Der Freischütz
by Armageddon Angel
Summary: An undercover cop with a chip on his shoulder, ice in his veins and nothing to lose. A cunning hacker with a Robin Hood streak, a massive ego and a dark past. They lived and worked in different spheres. But they are about to collide in a game of lies, betrayals, romance and drugs as they both go after a kingpin known only as Der Freischütz.
1. Prologue

**Hello boys and girls. How goes?**

**This is a story that's been stuck in my head for like a year. I was in the middle of writing one Gajeel and Levy oneshot when this idea attacked my brain. Unlike my A-Z oneshots, this is an actual multi-chapter story. I haven't written one since my discontinued story Sen No Kotoba.**

**This is the prologue to my story. I'm going to put it up here. It's a bit vague because I want to slowly introduce the cast of characters and not bog you down. If you want to read more, please leave me a review. **

**And now, our feature presentation of **_**Der Freischütz**_

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><p><strong>The Magic Bullet<strong>

Originally a dive, it was renovated under new management. Now it is **THE** happening club this side of Crocus. Top of the line entertainment, great drinks, A-listers everywhere, and just a little bit of dark and seedy to feed your wild side. If you are into the party scene, you can't go wrong with The Magic Bullet. However, like with many club scenes, there is a dark side to it and it all leads to the owner, Bora Eminentia.

Bora was a low-level drug dealer for the White Fang gang who sold in clubs until he got busted for possession. Though the police suspected that he was into a lot more, that was all they could prove against him at the time. He spent six months in prison. During that time on ice, he decided to go to business for himself. And he came on the perfect idea. If you own the club, you can control the drug game.

When he got out, Bora made a big show about "going straight". He used the money he got from selling drugs to buy his first club. Calling it Titan's Nose, it was originally a bust. But he called in some of his former associates to supply the drugs and in no time at all, he was up and running. With the money he made on both club entrance fees, booze, women and drugs, Bora was swimming in money. So, like any business, he decided to expand. Within two years, he had six clubs and was raking in millions of dollars. Now, his business not only includes drug trafficking, but also loan sharking, intimidation, and sex trafficking. The best part, because he ran his business this side of the legit line, no cops came sniffing around.

Bora smiled from his office, overlooking the landscape that is The Magic Bullet. It was packed. Great. It looks like he'll be making a cool 500k easy.

"Sir." A rough voice called out to him.

Bora turned around. His personal bodyguard was staring at him. "What is it, Kurogane?" He asked.

Bora had to hand it to himself. Kurogane was a great choice as a bodyguard. The man just exuded intimidation. Long, dark hair, blood-red eyes, piercings on his eyebrows, nose and arms, a large, muscled frame with several scars on his forearms, Kurogane was a man not to be crossed. The man started out as a collector for debts and worked his way up to his personal bodyguard.

The bodyguard was wearing a dark blue suit, a black skintight shirt, black trousers, and a red tie. He had a Glock, holstered on his left hip, gloves on his hands and an aura that says "Don't fuck with me".

"Two things." The dark haired man replied. "One, you've just received a call from your bank in the Caymans and they need to speak to you. Two, our...new friends... have a shipment for us."

Bora nodded. "Set up a meeting with our friends." He told his bodyguard. "I'll be there in ten, fifteen minutes. I will call the bank."

"Good." Kurogane answered. He gave his employer a slight bow and left him.

Bora dug into his pocket, grabbed his phone, and pressed one of the numbers that he has on speed dial. After three rings, he got an answer.

"Cayman Bank and Trust." A female voice on the other end of the line answered. "We take your privacy and your security very seriously. My name is Lucia Loveless. How may I help you?"

"I'd like to move some money from my business account to my personal account." Bora told the woman.

"Very good, sir." Lucia replied. "Please enter your account number and security code."

Bora entered the numbers to both of his account and security code on his phone.

"Thank you, sir." The woman answered. "Now, may I have the last password please for security purposes?"

"Prominence." He said.

"Thank you, sir." Lucia said in a pleasant tone. "Identity confirmed. Bora Eminentia."

"That I am." Bora laughed. "Now that we've got that squared away, I'd like to move $2.5 million from business to my personal."

"I can do that right now." She answered.

Bora could hear the clicking of keys from her end.

"There we go, sir." She said. "You will receive an email confirming the transaction. Please click the link and continue from there to finish the transaction."

"Thank you, Miss Loveless." Bora said in gratitude.

"Thank you, sir." She responded. "Now is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, thank you." Bora answered.

"Thank you for choosing Cayman Bank and Trust." Lucia replied.

Bora pushed the call end button. Now he had enough money on hand. He would need the 2.5 to get what he wanted.

There was a knock on his door.

"Yeah?" Bora asked.

"Our friends are here." A voice belonging to Kurogane answered.

"Send them in, Kurogane." Bora told his bodyguard.

The metal pierced man said nothing as he went to get the people. As Bora waited, he turned on his computer and went to check his email. He had one new message. He opened it. It was from his bank and there was a link. He clicked on it. It asked for the club owner's information. He punched it in as Kurogane led two new men in. Bora, having finished the task, got up from his seat.

What he didn't see was that on the bottom right of the screen, an icon of a black gear was spinning. His screen flickered a bit and then returned to normal.

Bora looked at the two men in his office. One was a man with sharp long yellow hair. That man had a vicious smile on his face, like the cat that ate the canary. The other man was a dark skinned man with spiky brown hair and a calm demeanor on his face.

"So you represent Der Freischütz." Bora asked.

"Ya doubt us? Is that why you had your man pat us down?" The man with the yellow hair grinned. "I'm Zancrow. That's Azuma. And yeah, we do."

"In our line of work, I feel it's always best to be a little cautious." The club owner asked. "You never know who's playing for what team."

Both of the men pulled up the sleeve of their right forearm. There was an inscription tattooed on their arm.

_Wenn du die Toten kleidest und inmitten von ihnen spielen willst, sollst du deren Reihe beitreten__._

Bora looked at them and smiled.

"My apologies for doubting you." He said. "Now we can get to business."

The man known as Azuma adjusted in his seat. "Our employer has finished his initial investigation on your operation and has concluded that you have the infrastructure needed to move our product."

"I've been waiting for this day, gentlemen." Bora laughed. "The day I'll finally be able to sell 'Magic Bullet'. I have a feeling that we'll be able to do a lot of business together."

"All we need is your first payment." Zancrow said. "2 and a half, cash. No e-trail."

"You'll have it first thing in the morning." Bora told them. "I will leave your payment in a locker at the gym on Fourth and Union. I'll text you the specifics later."

"Very good." Azuma said.

The two took their leave of the room, leaving Bora and Kurogane alone in the room. The long haired man looked at his employer.

"Who is Def Freischütz?" Kurogane asked.

Bora snickered lightly. "He's my ticket to getting control of the drug markets in Crocus, Magnolia...maybe even all of Fiore."

"Fiore? Is that wishful thinking?" The bodyguard scoffed.

Bora chuckled. "Maybe. But it doesn't hurt to dream big.

Kurogane silently nodded.

Bora returned to his desk and turned back on his computer. What he saw on the screen made him furrow his eyebrows.

"Kurogane, come over here." Bora asked.

The bodyguard walked over to his boss.

"Take a look on the screen."

Kurogane saw a spinning black gear on the computer screen.

"What is that suppose to be?" The bodyguard asked.

"I don't know." Bora replied. "Do you?"

"I don't know shit about computers." The long haired man told him.

Bora clicked on the black gear. When he did, it made a giggling sound.

"The hell?" Bora yelled.

He tried tapping on the keyboard. As he did, more giggling black gears popped up. The bar owner hit the monitor. All of a sudden, the CD drive ejected, music started playing on his music player, the giggling black gears got louder and louder. Bora had enough of his computer. So he pulled on the power cord and disconnected it from the outlet.

"I'll get a new one." Bora huffed.

All of a sudden, the two of them heard the club music stop. Kurogane put a hand on his gun and peeked out of the office window. That's when he saw flashing red and blue lights. His eyes widened.

"It's the police." He told his boss.

"Let's get out the escape door." Bora commanded.

Kurogane took Bora by his arm and led him to the back stock room of the Magic Bullet club. The police were busy arresting his patrons. The boss figured that that would give him a opportunity to escape undetected. Kurogane opened the door to the stock room. To anyone else, this was the place where overstock liquor was kept. But to those who knew (which would be Bora and Kurogane), there was a secret door behind one of the shelves. The long haired man went to it immediately and opened the door.

The door led to the alley outside of Bora's club. The two figured they were home free.

"Now we need to get to my house without anyone seeing us to establish an alibi." Bora told his bodyguard.

"Nice night for a stroll, eh Bora Eminentia?" A voice called out to him.

Bora and Kurogane turned to their left and saw a muscular blond man with a lightning bolt scar on his right eye. He had twenty uniformed policemen flanking him with their weapons drawn. His arms were crossed and he had a superior smirk on his face.

Bora glared at the blond officer. "Laxus Dreyar." He spat.

"_Lieutenant_ Laxus Dreyar." He corrected. "And I would suggest you two put your hands against the wall. Any sudden moves towards me or your body and you're Swiss, as in the cheese."

Bora and Kurogane did as they were directed. Lieutenant Dreyar nodded to two of his officers.

"Pat them down." He commanded. "Seize everything."

The officers did as they were told, taking Kurogane's gun and their phones, placing them in an evidence bag.

"So what brings you to my club tonight, Dreyar?" Bora asked.

"You're under arrest for drug trafficking." The blond man responded.

"You raided my club just for that?" He laughed. "Must not have a life."

"That's right. I don't." Laxus quipped back. "So we are going to be taking everything from your clubs, go through it with a fine tooth comb. I wonder what we are going to find?"

"You need to get laid, Dreyar." The club owner sneered. "You know, I have a bunch of girls in there if you want to... you know."

"Get him out of here." Laxus told his officer.

Bora was cuffed and hauled away by the officer into a police car.

Laxus then turned his attention to Kurogane. "And who are you, sunshine?" He asked.

Kurogane huffed. "I'm not talking." He said gruffly.

"You're not?" The officer mock-whined. "How sad. It's a long trip from here to the precinct. Now it's going to be a quiet one."

The bodyguard said nothing.

"Well, you're coming with me." Laxus told Kurogane.

Lieutenant Dreyar reached for his cuffs, pulled Kurogane's hands behind his back and slapped them on. The long haired man reached for a metal stud on his right forearm and pulled it off and palmed it. Laxus then put his palm on Kurogane's and grabbed the stud. He then flicked the bodyguard's wrist discretely.

"Alright then. Take him away too." Laxus told another officer. "Put him in a different cell than Bora. No one is to interrogate anyone until I get there."

Kurogane was taken away in a separate police car. As Laxus watched he put the stud in a tiny evidence bag. He pulled out his phone and dialed some numbers.

"Yeah, we got Titan Nose." He said. "I'm going to put Doranbolt in charge of collecting the rest of the evidence and then head to the precinct to start the interrogations."

Laxus nodded as the person on the other end conveyed some instructions to him.

"Understood, captain." Laxus replied and he hung up.

Putting his phone in his pocket, the lieutenant headed over to Doranbolt, who was carrying a PC in his arms.

"Doranbolt." Laxus called out to him.

The officer in question looked up and saw his lieutenant. "Hey Lieu." He greeted. "We might have a problem."

"Problem?" Laxus asked.

"See this computer?" Doranbolt said as he lifted it for his lieutenant to see. "When we went to turn it on, we found that there were multiple black gears on his screen."

"So?" The blond man asked.

"We believe that there is a third party in play." His subordinate told him. "This looks like the work of Shadowgear."

"The hacker?" Laxus said incredulously.

"It's a theory." Doranbolt answered. "We won't know until we get it examined.

"Alright. Bag all computers, smart phones, anything with a microchip. Take them to COMPFOR. I want the technicians working on this immediately. Tell them I want Laytis on lead." He told him. "In the mean time, you're in charge. Bag and tag everything. If there is a crumb on the floor, I want to know about it."

"Yes sir." Doranbolt replied. Afterwards, he left to place the evidence in the police car, leaving Laxus alone in his thoughts.

"Shadowgear, huh?" Laxus said to himself. "Things are going to get complicated, I can tell."

* * *

><p>Far away, in an enclosed room, long slender fingers were flying on a laptop keyboard, typing into the address bar for Fiore Broadcasting News Network. The article on the main page read "<span>Bar Owner Arrested for Drug Trafficking<span>".

There was a chuckle from the person typing.

"Another one bites the dust." A decidedly womanly voice laughed. "Bora's broke and as a side bonus, he just got arrested. Chalk one up for Shadowgear."

"And don't forget her friend, the lovely Lucia Loveless." Another female voice replied.

"That was great, _Lucia_." Shadowgear laughed, saying the name Lucia in a teasing voice. "If it wasn't for you, we would have never gotten him to trust us."

"It was you, _Shadowgear_." Lucia said in the same teasing tone. "You sent him the email that sent him a worm to copy all his files."

"And now we are 35 million dollars richer." Shadowgear laughed. "I've prepared the usual counters. I'm destroying the phishing website and using the dispersal program to send his money in separate accounts as it is bounced all over the world."

Shadowgear chuckled as she logged into an anonymous bulletin board and began typing on the board.

_Hello boys and girls,  
>Shadowgear here.<br>Just stole from local gang leader and gangster wannabe, Bora Eminentia. Stole 35 mil. Now he's under arrest. Enclosed in the attached files are my proof.  
>I believe I've got the top score now, my lovelies.<br>See you next crime  
>Shadowgear<em>

She posted the message on the board,

"What did you post?" Lucia asked

"I copied his files on his computer and posted them." Shadowgear explained.

"Nice." Lucia laughed.

There was a knock at the door. Shadowgear and Lucia looked in that direction. Lucia went over to the door and opened it. On the other side, there was a young man with salmon-colored hair, a white scarf that looked like scales, and an infectious boyish smile.

"Hey, Lucy." He greeted.

"Hey, Natsu." Lucia, now known as Lucy, replied with a smile. "What brings you over?"

"Have you and Levy applied for classes yet?" He asked.

Shadowgear got up from her chair. "We were about to go over there now."

Natsu waved at the girl. "Hey, Levy." He greeted. "Anyways, we need to hurry down to the campus square so we can get into the electives we want.

"Me and Lucy will be right there, Natsu." Levy, also known as Shadowgear, responded.

"Alright." Natsu said. "I'll meet you girls in the lobby." With that, the salmon-haired guy left.

Lucy closed the door, then she smiled at her friend slash accomplice.

"That was a close one." Lucy snorted. "Thank god he's not quick on the uptake."

"And yet, he's still your boyfriend." Levy teased.

"At least I have a boyfriend." Lucy teased back. "Now come on. You need to stop being Shadowgear, hacker extraordinaire and go back to being Levy McGarden, senior at Magnolia University."

"You got it." The hacker laughed. She shut down her laptop and got a light jacket from her closet.

"You think the authorities will ever catch us?" Lucy asked.

"No way." Levy snorted, waving her hand back and forth in front of her face. "I mean, who would believe that two innocent girls could ever be stupid enough to steal from bad guys."

Lucy laughed. "I guess you're right." She said.

The two left their dorm room. Levy was right. Who would believe that the greatest hacker of our time was a sweet little girl like Levy McGarden?

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><p><strong>And that's the prologue.<strong>

**This story came about because I wanted to give Levy a new facet in her personality. Usually, in AU fics, she's always the girl who's in the wrong place at the wrong time. She's helpless and scared until she meets Gajeel and everything changes. Other than that, she's basically the same as she is in Fairy Tail. I wanted to give her a more manipulative, more cunning side to her, give her some rough edges so to speak, on top of her normal personality. So this story about a hacker started slowly coming together. You'll see more of her personality in the next couple of chapters.  
><strong>

**To be honest, I had a hard time coming up with a title for this story. The title is German for "The Freeshooter" and it comes from a German opera. The reason for this connection will be explained in later chapters but those who know about Der Freischütz will get an idea. There will be a German motif in the story which will be explained as well.**

**The German inscriptions that Zancrow and Azuma have on their arms is translated as "If thou wouldst dress the dead and play amongst them, thou shalt join their ranks."... At least according Google translate. It's probably mangled. If there are native German speakers reading, if you could leave a better translation in your review, I'd appreciate it.**

**Anyways, is this a story you want to see more of? Loved it, hated it, have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Until next time,  
><strong>

**A. Angel.**


	2. Who We Are

**Hello, boys and girls. I'm back.**

**Thank you for the encouragement. I'm glad that you lovely readers find my story interesting. I want to give a personal thank you to Piranha-pk and Lale who helped me with the German.**

** So, anyways, I made a new chapter. It's quite a bit longer than the prologue. Hope you enjoy it.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Who We Are<strong>

Our story takes place on the island nation of Fiore in the year 2016.

Fiore.

It is about 1000 kilometers northwest of what is now Mauritania in the mid-Atlantic ocean. It was discovered entirely by accident in 1530 by Dutch sailors who were trying to make it around Africa to India. They were blown off course and landed on the northern part an uninhabited island four times the size of Hispaniola. After the initial shock, the Dutch saw this as an opportunity. Use the island as an outpost for sailors traveling to India. So, they sent for people to settle the island and a new colony was born. The island was named after the captain's mother (who was Italian), Fiore. The colony was called Crocus because of the flowers found there.

But the Dutch weren't the only ones to settle Fiore. In 1581, the Spanish landed on the northern part. They named their colony Rosa. In 1629, the French landed on the western end of Fiore. They called their colony and set up their own outpost. With three powers vying for control over Fiore, there were many who believed that war would be declared for this strategically valuable land. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. Rather than fight over the island, the Spanish, French and Dutch signed the Brussels Nonaggression Act of 1632, which allowed the French to colonize the western part, the Spanish were given the northern part while the Dutch settled the southern part. It was expanded upon in 1638 to allow the English to colonize the eastern part of Fiore. Keeping the flower theme, they called their colony Clover.

For being a single island where four of the major European powers settled, there was relative peace. Although Fiore had fairly decent fishing and coffee exports, to the powers, the island was nothing more than a jumping off point to other, more profitable colonies on the coasts of Africa, the Caribbean islands and the Americas. The colonists, meanwhile, continued expansion inwards into the island.

In 1659, Spain, having lost to France in the Franco-Spanish War, was forced to cede control over its colony to the victor. So now, France was the dominant power in Fiore. With it, it was able to seize more control of the island's resources. This unbalance of power made the two remaining colonies nervous. So, they banded together and created an alliance to offset this. Thus you had the French on one side and the Dutch and English on the other. In the years later, the Dutch would formally ceded control over its colony to England (now the United Kingdom) in 1713 for a handsome sum of money.

There was tension building France and Great Britain which could be felt in Europe, the Americas and Fiore which culminated in the Seven Years War. Though the fighting wasn't as intense as it was in Europe or the Americas, six thousand people lost their lives in Fiore until the war ended in 1763. With France defeated, Fiore was now under complete British rule. They set up Crocus as the provisional capital and there was peace. This peace survived the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

However, Fiore was slowly changing. As time went by, the people stopped seeing themselves less as British citizens and seeing themselves as Fioreans. The Fioreans were started to gain a national identity. And they no longer wanted to be a part of the United Kingdom. They wanted to be free. So, under the leadership of a man named Lucinox Caserta, they revolted in 1863.

It came to be known as the Floral Revolution.

The Fioreans captured British bases and declared independence. The British, for a while, fought back. But the Fioreans had the advantage of knowing the terrain. The fighting went on for about three years until a truce was made. (Many historians argue over whether or not the Fioreans could have actually defeated the British. They were the world's greatest superpower at the time and if they really wanted to keep Fiore, they would have. However, some historians believe that the British didn't see the value of Fiore other than as a stepping stone to India, which was far more valuable.) Great Britain would recognize Fiore's independence as long as Fiore would allow the British to have an outpost on the southern most part of the island. They agreed and Fiore was recognized as a country on March 20, 1866. The outpost was named Victoria's Crown, after the ruling monarch at the time.

Fiore set up their government as a constitutional democracy with a parliament, a judicial system and an executive branch, headed by the newly elected Lucinox Caserta. Thanks to his leadership, Fiore enjoyed relative peace with the British and soon allied itself with France and the United States.

Today, more than 150 years later, Fiore is a bustling island with a population of about 21 million. Its GDP is about 1.5 trillion. Its main language is English but there are places where Spanish, French and Dutch are spoken. Its currency is the Jewel, which has an exchange rate of .75 Euros. Tourism is a major part of its economy, offering an island getaway for Americans and Europeans. Fishing is another major part of its economy, along with the manufacturing of silicon-based products. And, while it may not be the world's leading exporter of coffee beans, the way it's grown produces a unique flavor that has yet to be reproduced outside of Fiore. Its population is well-educated with many of them having college level or higher degrees and they also have a very high standard of living. It has a temperate to tropical climate all year round. Many people who call this island home refer to Fiore as Paradise Island.

But even paradise had its serpent. If there is one shadow upon this otherwise shining slice of heaven on earth, it would be the illegal drug trade.

In the 1970s, the illegal drug trade started taking hold. Cocaine from Columbia was flooding North and South America. The cartels that controlled the trade were violent and ruthless. Many innocent people were left in their destructive wake. Wanting to spread to Europe, the cartels came to Fiore. And it wasn't just cocaine. Heroin was also moving west to the Americas. Fiore was caught in the middle. Because of its place between the Americas, Europe and Africa, the island was targeted by the cartels. There was a saying in the drug world. Control Fiore, control the drug trade.

It became so bad that the president at the time, Gran Doma, created a new division with the police with one sole purpose: to stem the flood of drugs into the country and to arrest the criminals responsible for bringing it here in the first place. This organization was known as the Fiore Drug Task Force.

FDTF was headed by veteran officer Purehito Grimoire. His newly created organization had unprecedented power to combat this threat. In ten years, FDTF had captured or killed over 2400 drug traffickers. It was an overwhelming success, one that Grimoire was able to use to get him elected president. Before that, he appointed Makarov Dreyar to replace him.

In the mid-80s, Makarov led the Task Force against the cartels just like his predecessor. However, what he didn't realize until later was that there was corruption within his organization which was led by Makarov's son, Ivan Dreyar. Makarov did not hesitate. He ordered everyone involved with the cartels arrested and he personally took down his son. This made Makarov a cause célèbre among Fioreans as someone who puts the safety of the island over his own family.

In the 90s, with the advent of computers and DNA profiling, the FDTF became the Fiore Criminal Task Force and it became the equivalent to US's FBI. It not only combats drug trafficking but also money laundering, racketeering, assault and murder. With a massive database of known criminals, Fiore-born and international, a crime lab that can analyze evidence and agents dedicated to the cause, FCTF protects not only Fiore but helps combat the illegal drug trade worldwide.

Though the specter of crime still exists, Fiore is still one of the safest countries in the world. This is where our story takes place. And it is on this island that the self-proclaimed greatest hacker of all time resides.

**SHADOWGEAR**

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><p>(This is the first page of the dossier on Shadowgear taken from the CIA.)<p>

Alias: Shadowgear  
>Name: Unknown<br>Age: Unknown  
>Sex: Presumed Male<br>Date of Birth: Unknown  
>Country of Origin: Unknown<br>Country of Operations: Unknown  
>Height: Unknown<br>Weight: Unknown  
>Known Associates: Unknown<br>Crimes: Computer Fraud

Not much is known about Shadowgear. Who he is, where he is, why he does this, no one knows. What is known are his accomplishments.

Seven years ago, Shadowgear hacked into the FBI, CIA, NSA, Interpol, Scotland Yard, MI-6, Mossad, FSB, and FCTF...simultaneously. A joint effort was made by these organizations to trace the source of the incursion but to no avail. He has never tried to hack the organizations again.

Shadowgear is responsible for ruining at least twenty corporations and their CEOs. Some conservative estimates have him stealing over 500 million dollars.

Shadowgear has participated with the hacktivist group "Anonymous" in tracking down those who would distribute child pornography and reporting offenders to the proper authorities.

Shadowgear has gone after criminals who attempt to put their money in countries with strict banking laws like Switzerland, the Caymans and others.

Shadowgear has helped law enforcement agencies with catching criminals using facial recognition and credit card history. However, the help he gives LEOs does not mitigate responsibility.

Shadowgear's Psych Profile (Incomplete/possibly wrong due to lack of background)

Shadowgear is a male in his early to mid thirties. Well educated but with poor social skills. Works a low paying job so that his activities are not discovered but lives way beyond his means. Lives either alone or with a parent. Has never been in a relationship. Is great when it comes to attention to detail. Impatient. Egotistical. Goal-oriented with ulterior agenda. Has the best in computer equipment. Probably eats a lot of fast food so he isn't in perfect health. Probably into geek or counterculture. One or two friends at most. An internet vigilantism streak could suggests past trauma, probable abuse, possible sexual abuse, or he is someone looking for fun/challenge. One thing is certain. Shadowgear is probably the most brilliant and most dangerous hacker in the world.

Approach with extreme caution.

* * *

><p>"Whaaaa?" Levy screamed at the top of her lungs. "What do you mean it's all filled up?"<p>

"I'm sorry, Miss McGarden." A woman behind a computer said. "But Psych-302 is all filled up with Psychology majors. They get first dibs."

"Aww." She sighed. "I heard Professor Regulus was teaching the course."

"That's why it filled up so quickly." She answered. "All women."

"It's not surprising." Levy said. "His lectures are amazing."

"If you want," the woman handling registration said. "He is teaching several other courses this year. Perhaps I can sign you up for one. How about Psych-312: Deadly Women: The Minds of Female Criminals. If you are taking Criminology, it fulfills that requirement too."

"Sounds like fun." Lucy said. "Professor Regulus always has good classes."

"Okay, please sign me up." Levy asked.

Magnolia University

One of Fiore's elite universities. Founded in 1908 by Walrod Cken as an agriculture college which grew medicinal plants that only could be cultivated in Fiore. Not long after, the university developed a medical adjunct. Eventually, it evolved into the university it is today, offering many degrees in medicine, business, law, the liberal arts, and many more.

The campus itself is great. Over two kilometers of lush greenery, twenty buildings dedicated to learning including a large science lab, residencies for undergrads and post-grads, and a student population of over nine thousand, Magnolia U. is huge. Of course, like any elite college, they do have an excellent sports program. The Magnolia Dragons, as they are called, have been a force to be reckoned with, especially on the football field with many of its star players playing for their country in the World Cup.

But enough about the school. Let's talk about the star of this story, at least according to her.

Levy McGarden, AKA Shadowgear.

She is twenty-three years of age, blue hair, brown eyes, a bit on the short side and, to her consternation, not too big in the breast department. If you saw her on the street, you'd think she was pretty cute and unassuming. But don't let that fool you. She is an internationally wanted criminal.

At the age of 15, Levy was introduced to the world of computers and was hooked immediately. It was like awaking to a world of color after living in black and white for so long. She learned the basics from a very friendly Catholic nun at St. Francis de Sales. Levy wanted to learn everything she could about this fantastic device. She deconstructed and reconstructed that computer every chance she could until the hacker knew it inside and out. She learned the language of computers so well that she could actually speak it. Every code, every keystroke was euphoria. In under a year, Levy knew more about computers than the sister who taught her.

At 16, Levy taught herself the art of hacking and it was amazing. It was like taking control of a small part of the universe. A code here, a script there and she could manipulate whatever she wanted. Like many people trying to advance in their field, Levy needed a challenge, something to measure her skills against. But first, she needed an alias. Why she called herself Shadowgear, Levy couldn't tell you. Perhaps she thought it sounded cool at the time. Whatever the case, that's what she stuck with.

Levy got to work preparing to wage the greatest cyber assault of all time. One girl with a borrowed laptop against some of the biggest intelligence agencies. Sounds like a David vs. Goliath story right? You'd be right. It took her a weekend but she punched a hole into their securities system and left several backdoors in place so that she could access anything from their digital files.

The international news media ran that story for months. Hackers broke into intelligence agencies around the world. Was this the work of terrorists? Spies? Everyone had their theories. Not a single person knew the truth, that it was the work of a bored sixteen year old girl, trying to see what she could do.

From there, Levy started making a name for herself in the cyber world. Identity theft, corporate espionage, DDOS attacks, computer fraud, you name a computer crime, she's done it several times over. And she has never gotten caught.

At 18, Levy created an internet supernode for the church that taught her how to use the computer so that they wouldn't have to pay for an ISP. This garnered her much attention, both local and international, and most of it was unwanted. She hadn't forgotten that not even a year and a half, she hacked into all of those agencies. So when they interviewed her for the story, Levy did her best to draw attention away from herself and towards the church. That backfired terribly. Companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Yahoo saw the story and wanted to hire her. Levy declined each offer as graciously as possible, saying she would rather continue her education rather than work. The hacker learnt a lesson from this. Stay in the shadows and draw as little attention to yourself as possible.

There was a good thing that came of all of this. Levy was offered a full scholarship to Magnolia U, which she took. Not only did it give her a chance to further her education, but it also gave her a base of operations. And so, for the last four years, she has gone after the criminal underworld, taking down corporations, drug lords, and generally bad people from her college dorm.

"Well, now that we've finished signing up for electives, how about some ice cream?" Levy said to her two friends.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Lucy replied.

Lucy Heartfilia. Yes, you read that right. THE Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude Heartfilia, the man who owns and runs Heartfilia Railways. Blonde and busty with nice legs and a great ass, basically a man's walking wet dream. Add to the fact that she's rich and smart and you've got the perfecta. She can be sweet and fiery at the drop of a hat. You can look but know that she is waaaay out of your league.

Lucy is the heir to the Heartfilia fortune. Children with wealthy parents tend to grow up one of three ways: spoiled, accepting or resentful. Lucy grew up the latter. When her mother, his wife, died suddenly, Jude thrust himself into his work, leaving Lucy without neither a mother nor a father. When she was sixteen, Mr. Heartfilia started grooming his daughter to take his place as the head of Heartfilia Railways. But Lucy resisted. Perhaps it was because of her independent spirit. Perhaps it was spiteful resistance for years of neglect. Whatever the case, Lucy wanted nothing to do with her father's empire.

It was during this time that she met with her future best friend for life, Levy McGarden. They met in St. Francis de Sales and the two instantly bonded. You might think it weird, an internationally wanted criminal who burns rich people and the daughter of a rich man. But the two just clicked.

Soon, Levy let Lucy in on her secret, that she was Shadowgear. Rather than being repulsed, Lucy thought it was cool. She resolved to help Levy in her scams, her partner in crime. Lucy became the roper. Using either the phone and internet programs like Skype, Lucy disguised her voice, her face and her hair to create a new persona, Lucia Loveless. Using this persona, she lured people into Levy's digital traps. Most of them were men who were charmed by her looks. They were so entranced by her beauty that they never saw the ruination that Levy brought until days, sometimes weeks after it happen.

The two were very careful to hide the money after their scams. The reason that most hackers get caught was that they were impatient. Perhaps it was born of the fact that they are so used to the instantaneous nature of their crimes. One click and their mark was ruined. But then they would put the money into their bank account immediately, leaving a trail that led right to them. Shadowgear was different. Levy would split up the proceeds of their crimes into smaller amounts and digitally bounce them around banks for several days, perhaps weeks at a time.

After the heat died down, she would slowly funneled half of the money into a shell company called Creative Solutions, a company she created that sets up computer and security networks around the world. She franchised the business to people looking for a job. They would install networks these networks around the world and would be paid by the company. This served two purposes. One, it allowed Levy and Lucy to launder the proceeds of their crimes and two, these networks would then serve as part of her botnet to hack into new targets. As for the company itself, it was cleaner than many legitimate corporations. Employees were well paid, had medical and dental insurance, pensions, withholding, 401ks, everything. No one would ever suspect that this business was a front for Shadowgear's illicit activities.

Of course, not all of the money went into the shell company. Half of it went to various charities around the world. Levy and Lucy reasoned that the money they stole from their targets should be put to help innocent people. Charities like the Salvation Army, UNICEF, and the Red Cross all have received anonymous donations from the duo, never knowing that the donations came from the accounts of bad people.

Levy McGarden as Shadowgear, Lucy Heartfilia as Lucia Loveless. Together, they were the Robin Hoods of the digital realm.

"Natsu, you going?" Lucy asked.

"Sorry. But I have to go see my pops." Natsu said with a smile, kissing Lucy's cheek. "Rain check?"

"Alright." Lucy said. "Say hello to your father for me."

Natsu nodded and left the two girls.

Natsu Dragneel. He stood out from the crowd with his pink hair. He had an infectious smile and a simple outlook on life. He was a fun-loving guy and very hard-working. If you saw him on the street, you would think that he was some kind of athlete. You wouldn't too far off the truth. Natsu's full ride to Magnolia U. was due to his football scholarship. Teams were already scouting him to have him join their football clubs, especially top teams like Madrid and Manchester. But one incident would change the course of his life forever.

His father, Igneel Dragneel, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Natsu watched as his father started losing control of his body. At first, the shakes were mild and could be attributed to perhaps cold or illness. But the illness got to the point where he crashed into the side of a building. That's when the doctors found out about the disease. Natsu was devastated. He had never felt so helpless in his life. Although his father put on a brave face, the pink haired college student knew better. That's when he had an epiphany. He wanted to do something to help. He gave up college football and put his all into pursuing a degree in medicine.

Giving up football meant that Natsu would also have to give up the scholarship. Having no way to pay for college, he looked for a good job that could help pay not only for his college but his father's medical bills. But no one would hire him because he lacked the experience. When Lucy learned of his father's condition, she offered to pay for it in full. Natsu refused. Call it male pride or whatever but Natsu couldn't allow someone else to take on the responsibility of taking care of his father. So she did the next best thing. She got him a job at Creative Solutions. Working at Creative Solutions not only gave Natsu a steady income, it also gave him medical insurance that paid for his father's bills and help with college.

Natsu had no idea that Levy and Lucy were running scams on criminals. He had no idea they were running the company that hired him. He only saw a very good friend and his girlfriend in Levy and Lucy respectively. Natsu never challenged the times he saw them on the computer together. He just assumed that they were doing girl stuff. In turn, Levy and Lucy took great care never to put him in dangerous or illegal situations. They never wanted to put him in a position to break the law, especially since he has an ill father to take care of. So they purposely kept him in the dark about their activities. This arrangement worked out well for the last three years and there was no reason to change that now.

"Let's get that ice cream." Levy said. "I want to go through all of the data later."

"Alright." Lucy cheered and the two went to the closest ice cream parlor.

* * *

><p>The Fiore Criminal Task Force office in Crocus was busy processing the evidence from the Magic Bullet crime scene. Leading the charge was Laxus Dreyar.<p>

Lieutenant Laxus Dreyar lived in both a bright light and a large shadow. He was the son of Ivan Dreyar, the corrupt enforcer and drug dealer, and the grandson of Makarov Dreyar, shining star of the Task Force. Most people in his position would want to stay away from the family business. But not Laxus. He had something to prove. He wanted not only to get out of the darkness of his father but out of the light of his grandfather. He wanted to be his own man, to be remembered for what _he_ did, not what they did.

After high school, Laxus enlisted in the Task Force immediately. There, he worked harder than others, walking the beat, helping other officers with their cases. He never took easy, cushy missions. The enforcer worked longer hours than anyone. Many in the Task Force noticed this and nominated him for a promotion. Laxus Dreyar went from enforcer, to detective, to chief detective and now, at 31, lieutenant of the Crocus division of the Fiore Criminal Task Force. Over his career, Laxus has a closed case rate of 93 percent, higher than the average of 71. A man who doggedly pursued justice, Laxus Dreyar was a forced with whom to be reckoned.

"Someone give me a sit-rep of the Magic Bullet." Laxus yelled out.

An officer named Laharl came forward. "Of course, Lieutenant." He said. "Doranbolt is still collecting the physical evidence from all of Eminentia's clubs. All digital evidence has been sent to COMPFOR. Laytis is coming in a couple of minutes to sift through it."

"Why isn't he here now?" Laxus ordered. "I called him in four hours ago."

Laharl blushed. "He said he was on the coast of Clover with a woman."

Laxus growled. "Tell him to get his ass in here now."

Laharl nodded.

"Where's Bora?" Laxus asked.

"In Interrogation 1." Laharl answered. "Detective Strauss is talking to him."

"And the bodyguard?"

"In Interrogation 2." Laharl continued. "The captain himself said he was coming in to supervise. He wants you to do the interrogation."

Laxus would have said more but he noticed a woman wearing sunglasses and holding a briefcase coming into the Task Force, a woman who commanded attention. When he realized who it was, he groaned.

"Aw fuck." He cursed. "It's the Sabertooth woman."

The woman walked up to him and took off her sunglasses. "Where's Bora Eminentia?" She asked.

"Minerva." Laxus grounded out with a sarcastic smile. "Always a pleasure."

"Stop dicking me around and take me to my client." Minerva glared.

Laxus frowned. He looked at Laharl. "Take her to Bora." He commanded.

Laharl nodded and took Minerva to Bora, leaving Laxus alone in his thoughts

"Why the fuck is the queen of darkness taking on Bora's case?" He thought to himself. With that, he went over to interrogation room 2.

* * *

><p>Bora sat and waited patiently in the interrogation room as one of the detectives was talking to him. He knew he wouldn't be here long. His lawyer should be here any moment. He watched the hulk of a man pace about the room.<p>

"Do you want to make a statement?" Detective Strauss asked.

"Other than the fact that you are a big dumb idiot?" Bora snapped.

"Trying to get a rise out of me?" The detective asked. "That wouldn't be very manly."

"That'd be the only way you'd ever get a rise." Bora snickered. "I bet you're still a virgin."

Detective Strauss shrugged his shoulders.

The door to the interrogation room opened and in walked Bora's lawyer, Minerva Orland. She glared at the club manager. "This interrogation is over." She declared. "Leave the room."

Detective Strauss got up and started to leave the room.

"Yeah, that's right bitch." Bora sneered. "Run with your fairy tail between your legs."

Minerva smacked Bora's head with her briefcase hard.

"What the hell?" He yelled, rubbing his head.

"My client is invoking his right to shut his stupid mouth right now." Minerva said. Before he could say anything, she glared at him. "And if he wants me to continue as his lawyer, he'll do as he's told."

Bora cowed. He said nothing more.

Detective Strauss walked out the interrogation room and into the observation room. However, he realized that he was not alone. A woman with wavy brunette hair and glasses, wearing a dark blue blouse and pencil skirt. He knew immediately who it was.

"Ever." Detective Strauss greeted.

The woman addressed as Ever frowned. "When we are at work, call me by my full name, you lummox." She snapped. "It's Evergreen."

"Sorry, honey." He grinned sheepishly. "But you surprised me. Why are you here?"

"I've been promoted." She explained. "I'm working criminal cases now."

"That's great." Elfman smirked. "You've always wanted to move up in the Justice Department."

Evergreen looked at the two-way mirror and watched Minerva talk with her client. "Is that who I think it is?" Evergreen asked.

"Yeah, that's Miss Sabertooth herself." Elfman spat. "She's his lawyer."

"She's a tough one, I've heard." The woman from Justice told the detective. "There was a case that Justice had. We had everything: DNA, video footage, eyewitnesses. She confused the jury so badly that they voted for acquittal.

"We've got more than enough." Elfman explained. "We found drugs in his clubs. We've rounded up many of his associates who are willing to cut deals in exchange for lighter sentences. We've got video footage of him making deals. We've got it all."

Evergreen closed her eyes and mulled everything over in her head.

"Alright." She sighed. "Charge him. Drug trafficking, criminal possession with intent to sell, and racketeering."

Elfman nodded and opened the door, letting in Evergreen. Minerva glared at the duo.

"We aren't done." Minerva yelled.

"We are charging your client with several counts of trafficking, possession with intent and racketeering." Evergreen declared. "Arrest him."

Elfman went over to Bora and lifted him up by the scruff of his shirt and put him on his feet.

"Hey, let me go." Bora yelled out.

Detective Strauss put Bora's hands behind his back. "Bora Eminentia, you are now under arrest." He told the club manager. "I am now informing you of your right against self-incrimination. Should you decline to adhere to this, anything you say afterwards shall be used against you in court. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one shall be provided to you at no cost. Do you understand these rights?"

"I'll be out in a day." Bora jeered. "Two, tops."

"I'll take that as a yes." The detective sighed as he led Bora to a holding cell.

Evergreen was now alone with Minerva. The woman known as Sabertooth was observing her, trying to size her up.

"I've never seen you before, sweetie." Minerva laughed in a sickeningly sweet voice. "First time?"

"I'm been in contract law for five years." Evergreen explained.

"But your first criminal case?" Minerva leered.

Evergreen said nothing.

"What's your name?" Minerva asked.

"Evergreen." The woman answered with zero emotion. She was not going let this woman get the best of her.

"Evergreen what?" The Sabertooth woman pressed.

"Strauss. Evergreen Strauss." The woman from Justice continued.

"I noticed that the detective who arrested my client was also named Strauss." Minerva laughed. "Are you related?"

"He's my husband." Evergreen replied.

"Do I detect a conflict of interest here?" The defense lawyer cooed. "That's good. I eat lawyers like you for breakfast."

Minerva got up from her chair.

"See you in court." The Sabertooth woman smiled at Evergreen as she walked out of the interrogation room, leaving Evergreen alone with her thoughts.

* * *

><p>Kurogane was sitting in a wobbly chair in a cold interrogation room. He was staring into the eyes of a very inexperienced Task Enforcer. Brown hair, lanky with a runner's body. The guy was trying to act tough, cracking his knuckles, pacing about, evil glares. This guy watched too many cop shows. His greenness was showing.<p>

"So help me help you." The enforcer said. "You help me with the case against Bora and I'll help you with your own charges."

Kurogane said nothing.

"You're in quite a bind." The enforcer continued. "Do you want to go down with this man?"

The long haired man snorted quietly.

"We've got boxes of evidence that can stack from the moon and back." He spoke again. "You're all going down. The only way you are getting out of this is if you confess."

Kurogane nearly broke down in laughter. His inexperience was showing. He was giving away everything they had on Bora and his gang.

"You're not going to say anything?" The enforcer asked.

Before Kurogane could even respond, the door to the interrogation room opened. In walked Lieutenant Laxus Dreyar and Captain Makarov Dreyar. The bodyguard looked at the inexperienced man's face. It was a face of terror. It seems that this guy wasn't suppose to say a word.

"Sarasuke." Laxus commanded. "Outside now."

The enforcer known as Sarasuke walked out of the room and Laxus followed him. The lieutenant closed the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" Laxus asked.

"I was just..." Sarasuke tried to explain but Laxus held up his hand.

"I said that no one was to do interrogations until I got there, right?" Laxus yelled.

The lowly enforcer nodded.

"So you disobeyed a direct command." Laxus grounded out.

Sarasuke nodded again.

"You're on holding duty until I tell you otherwise." Laxus commanded.

"Yes sir." He said glumly and shuffled away.

Laxus opened the door to the interrogation room and closed it. He then shut down all of the cameras in the room and turned off the microphones so that no one on the other side of the two way mirror could hear them. He took a seat next to his grandfather and stared down Kurogane.

There was silence for half a space. Then...

Makarov chuckled. "Good job with Bora, Kurogane."

Kurogane smirked. "You don't have to call me that in here." He said.

"Alright, Gajeel Redfox." The captain said.

Gajeel Redfox, better known on the street as Kurogane. However, he truly worked for the Task Force as an undercover officer. For the last seven years, he has been infiltrating gangs and taking them down from the inside. His M.O. would be to get into a gang, work his way up until he's near the leader, then record their conversations long enough to hang everyone. Part of the reason for his success was that he looked the part of a gangbanger with his piercings, his long hair, and his gruff demeanor. But mostly, it was the fact that he knew how these people worked. It was no mistake that Makarov Dreyar had personally picked him to weed out the most dangerous gangs plaguing Fiore. He was the best.

Name a gang that has been busted in the last seven years and you'll find that Gajeel had, at the very least, a hand in their downfall. Oracion Seis, Tartaros, Raven Tail, he had gotten into them all. The undercover always found the weakest point of entry. He would make as little splash as possible when first joining. Then Gajeel would slowly make himself indispensible to the gang. In his most recent case, it took the long haired man three months until he was Bora's full time bodyguard. When he was in the 'in-crowd', that's when Gajeel started gathering information to take down his target. They wouldn't know what hit him until the arrest.

There were only two people who knew about Gajeel's connection with FCTF: Makarov and Laxus Dreyar. It was these two who gave him his directives, who to infiltrate and when. He answered only to these two. Beyond this, he was allowed to act however he needed in order to infiltrate the gangs, up to and including the murder of other gangbangers. It was a small price to pay to take down entire crews.

"Do we have enough info on Titan Nose?" Gajeel asked.

"More than enough." Laxus told him. "Good job as always."

"You act like you're surprised." Gajeel scoffed. "I know what I'm doing."

"I'd give you some time off but we've got a problem." Makarov said.

"Am I going to have to testify in court?" The long haired undercover asked. "If I have to do that, my cover's gonna be blown."

"We will do everything we can to prevent that from happening." Makarov answered. "But that's not the problem."

"What is it?" Gajeel asked.

Makarov nodded at Laxus. The lieutenant handed Gajeel a picture. It was a picture him and Bora and the two guys from the club from last night.

"These two." Gajeel said, stretching out his limbs until he heard the satisfying pop. "I remember."

"We've made a tentative ID on Bora's last two visitors." Laxus said. "They are part of the Black Hunter cartel."

"I figured they were from a rival gang." Gajeel scoffed. "They had some tattoo on their arms. It was in German or something. They said that they represented some guy named Der Freischütz."

Laxus wrote down the name on a piece of paper. "I'll look this up." He said.

"What else did they want?" Makarov asked.

"Apparently, they've been investigating Bora's operations for a while." Gajeel explained. "They were going to give him something called Magic Bullet thing to sell for 2.5 million jewels in cash."

Makarov sighed. Both Gajeel and Laxus noticed it. "The new drug." He groaned.

"What's up, old man?" Laxus asked.

"How ironic that everything intertwines like this." The captain nodded. He turned to his two best officers. "Laxus, Gajeel, this Magic Bullet is our next mission."

Gajeel quirked a pierced eyebrow. "How so?" He asked.

Makarov took Laxus's pad and ripped out a page. He wrote something down quickly and handed it to Gajeel. The long haired man read it.

222 Phantom Lane, Apt. 4AB, Magnolia

"An address in Magnolia?"

"That's where you need to go." Makarov explained. "You will then be given all of the parameters of your next mission there from your handler."

"I don't need a handler, Gramps." Gajeel said. "I've been fine on my own."

"For this mission, you need a handler." Makarov answered, leaving no room for argument. "But don't worry, brat. You'll be getting the best."

"Who?" The pierced man asked.

"Gildarts Clive." The captain told him.

"Gildarts Clive?" Gajeel said, not trusting his voice. "THE Gildarts Clive? The legendary undercover agent?" The undercover enforcer couldn't help the glee he had in his voice. There are very few agents who have the same mystique around their names as Gildarts Clive. To be working with him would be a great honor.

"One in the same." Makarov chuckled. Gajeel was acting like he was going to meet his favorite sports star. "But first things first. You'll need to establish your credentials."

"I've got pretty good ones." The long haired man said with a smirk.

"Let's add escape to your résumé." The captain said. "You'll be busting out of here today."

"I'll direct all of the detectives and enforcers away from the holding cells, giving you a bee line to out of here." Laxus said. With that, he got up and left the room.

Makarov looked Gajeel in the eyes.

"You can refuse if you want to, Gajeel." He told the undercover agent. "I won't force you to do anything you don't want to."

"I still owe you big time." Gajeel said in a soft voice. He was very close in letting himself reminisce about the past. But he stopped himself.

"I've considered that debt repaid, you damn brat." Makarov chuckled.

"Not me." Gajeel said. "You saved my life. So I'll dedicate mine to your cause."

Makarov closed his eyes and smiled. With Laxus in the light and Gajeel in the shadows, Fiore is as safe as it can be.

"Alright then. Let's take down Magic Bullet." Makarov declared.

Gajeel nodded and got up. He allowed the captain to put him in handcuffs and escort him from the interrogation room to Holding. Opening one of the cells, he led Gajeel in and undid his handcuffs. He slammed the cell door and walked out of Holding, confident that his undercover could successfully break out of the most secure building in Fiore.

Gajeel bided his time for ten minutes. He observed his surroundings. There was an immovable cot, an open air toliet, and a barred window. There really wasn't much in the way of escape here. However, from the bars, he noticed that the guy who was interrogating him earlier was there. Like the idiot he was, the guy (Sarusuke was it?) was reading a magazine and not paying attention to his surroundings. Not only that but he had the key to his cell on his belt along with his gun, baton, cuffs and pepper spray. Easy pickings. Is this the sad state of the Task Force? He'll need to talk to Makarov about hiring better people. But for now...

Gajeel undid his tie, grabbed one end of it and balled the rest of it up in his hand to hide it. He put his hands through the bars. The undercover was ready.

"Hey lanky." Gajeel yelled.

Sarasuke turned towards Gajeel, a sneer on his face.

"So you're not a mute." He laughed derisively. On his own, he started walking towards Gajeel.

Gajeel couldn't believe his luck. He was coming to him on his own. Could this guy be any more stupid? He was nearly arms length from Gajeel now. He just needs to be a little closer.

"It must be easy to be a tough guy when there's iron separating us." Gajeel mocked.

Sarasuke got a little closer. "What was your name again?" He asked.

"Kurogane." Gajeel told him.

"What kind of name is that?" The enforcer asked, getting within a half-arms length.

"It means Black Steel." Gajeel told him.

"What a stupid name." Sarasuke snorted.

Gajeel unballed his tie and grabbed it at both ends. He smirked. "You'll remember it forever." He said in a low voice. "Promise."

Quick as a shot, Gajeel got his tie around Sarasuke's neck. With all of his strength, Gajeel pulled him forward, causing the enforcer's head to bang against the iron bars. He fell limp and unconscious.

"Damn, old man." Gajeel chuckled. "Hire better people."

He knelt down and grabbed the keys to his cell and unlocked his. He slid the bars open and dragged the limp enforcer inside, propping him on the cot. He grabbed Sarusuke's cuffs and handcuffed him to the top post. The long haired man took the enforcer's belt off and tied one of his feet to the bottom post. He took his tie and wrapped it around Sarasuke's mouth. He then grabbed the enforcer's gun and concealed it behind his back.

Gajeel walked out of the cell and slammed it behind him and left Holding. Entering the hallway, the undercover was greeted with silence. Laxus had done a good job getting people away from Holding. Still, he was cautious as he slowly made his way to the exit. When he walked out of the Crocus precinct, Gajeel felt the midday sun on his face. He would have reveled in it some more but he had a mission to complete. He had to get to Magnolia immediately. Makarov was counting on him.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of chapter one.<strong>

**You may be wondering why I gave you a Fiorean history lesson there. There's a reason behind it. When some authors bring a land from an anime to the real world, they just plop it into the globe without any explanation. I mean, it's easier to bring a place like Karakura from Bleach into a modern setting because it's in Japan. But Fiore is an island that has no earthly equivalent. Since Fiore is the setting of this story, I wanted to give it some history. Our history is a big part of who we are as people of our countries. We are guided by it as we guide it ourselves. So I put it into the context of the European colonization race of the 17th century. The European powers have had a great influence on the world we know today. So it is only fitting that it have some influence on Fiore. I'm sorry if the history part bored you but I feel that it's important to the story.**

**The dossier part was based from a file that my Psych professor once showed us. We got to read up on psych profiles (with the name redacted of course) and try to analyze them. I wanted to add some mystique to Levy's Shadowgear persona. I wanted to show you how others see her. **

**I also didn't go crazy on explaining all of the main characters. Most authors throw everything at the reader in the first chapter about who their characters are and what drives them. While there's nothing wrong with that approach, I feel that it's better to lead the reader into the character slowly. Let them make their own assumptions about the character and either reinforce or shatter their expectations.**

**So, liked it? Hated it? No opinion one way or another? Questions? Comments? Concerns? Rants? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Until next time,**

**A. Angel**


	3. When Where Who Which

**Hello boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.**

**I am so happy with the response this story has been getting. It's been a long time since I told a structured story. I'm glad to get back into the game. I was writing my NaLu story before this but it wasn't going the way I wanted so I decided to put that on hold and work on this. **

**I am glad that my Fiorean history was well-received. I took a big gamble with it, running the risk of turning readers off with it. Glad to see that that wasn't the case**

**I know some of you are wondering when Gajeel and Levy are going to meet. Believe me, it's coming but not for another two or three chapters. But I have to set everything up first. Think of this as the first act of the play. I'm introducing you to the cast of characters who will play a role in the story and setting up the situation.**

**A special shout out to crystalroes who made the connection that Sarasuke was Jet. I couldn't help but give Gajeel the chance to hurt one of Levy's Fairy Tail friends for no reason.**

**And now, for your reading pleasure, our feature presentation.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: When, Where, Who, Which<strong>

What is the difference between an amateur and a professional? I mean besides the pay and the level of expertise?

The difference is that the amateur is sloppy in his work, scattershot and makes lots of mistakes. The professional, however, is thorough, precise and makes little, if any, mistakes. The professional is a meticulous planner with a code of conduct that streamlines the job he or she is paid to do while the amateur has no plan and often butchers the job or, if he or she does succeeds, it's completely on accident.

When it comes to the world of cybercrime, Levy McGarden, AKA Shadowgear, hacker extraordinaire, is a professional without equal. As a professional, Levy operates within a strict code of conduct.

1. Never ruin an honest man.

There are very few stereotypically good people in the world, in Levy's mind. Everyone has at least one dark secret in their closet. However, most are decent people trying to make a decent living. Such people do not deserve digital fire rained down upon them. Although many in her profession prey on these people and destroy their lives, Levy refuses to do so. That's why she exclusively hunts bad guys. Bad guys have more money. And it's much more satisfying to ruin a bad guy than it is a good guy.

That is not to say that Levy isn't above petty revenge. For example, when Lucy and Natsu dragged her out to a club (Lucy said that she needed to socialize more) she was hit on by a lecherous guy. Even though she repeatedly refused his advances, the guy couldn't take no for an answer. The young woman tried to extricate herself from the situation but the guy grabbed her butt. That's when the proverbial gloves came off. Levy gathered information on her target and found out that not only did he have a wife and kids, he had three other mistresses, each with kids of their own. So the blue haired woman set up a scheme where she sent invitations to that guy and his wife to an exclusive restaurant. She also sent invitations to each of his mistresses for the same day. It was so epic that even international media stations ran that story. Needless to say that his wife divorced him and his mistresses left him. The man was so embarrassed that he changed his name and left the country. Let it be known that it's not a smart idea to piss off a hacker like Levy McGarden.

2. Never interfere with a police investigation.

This is a lesson Levy had to learn the hard way.

She was working on a job three years ago. An American businessman was running an elaborate Ponzi scheme on small time investors. Levy caught wind of it and searched for the money. In two months time, she was able to find every last cent. What she didn't know at the time was that the FBI was doing its own search. Their investigations melded. When the FBI finally did arrest the man, he was able to claim that Shadowgear was responsible for stealing the money. It was enough to force a mistrial.

From that moment on, she made sure not to ruin investigations. Though she has helped law enforcement agencies on many occasions, she made sure not to step on their digital toes. Whenever she was working on a job that required immediate police intervention, she pointed them in the right direction through anonymous channels. She did her best never to compromise an investigation. However, most of the time, Levy targeted criminals who weren't being investigated. Much easier to con them out of their money.

3. Always keep distance between you and your target.

The more distance there is between you and your target, the harder it is for them to retaliate against you. Levy's weapon of choice, the computer, was the perfect tool to take down her target. With a few keystrokes, she can descend like an angel, with fiery sword in hand, leaving destruction in her wake. The best part is that she can do it without ever meeting her intended victim. As added protection, she made sure to limit the jobs that she did on Fiorean soil. In fact, the Bora job was the closest job she ever undertook. It took her and Lucy all of three hours to wipe out all of his money.

4. Never take on outside jobs without proper research.

As an internationally wanted criminal, Levy had to be very careful of what she did. She only accepted jobs after she first made sure that the job wasn't a setup. There are many posts on online message boards trying to hire Shadowgear for jobs. Levy had to laugh at some of these efforts. Many of these jobs were obvious lures to get her. Only an idiot would fall for it. Levy McGarden was many things but she wasn't an idiot.

5. Never let a job get too personal and always know when to walk away from the job.

This, admittedly, is the hardest thing for Levy. The people she went after destroyed lives, more often financially but sometimes physically. To think that people could be so callous...the hacker couldn't stand it. She wanted to ruin them just as they have ruined others. Becoming the hand of vengeance for those who couldn't defend themselves was an incredible high. But it was also very dangerous. She ran the risk not only of exposing herself but also becoming like them. For Levy to be successful, she must not only be skilled at her job, she must also keep at a dispassionate distance or she runs the risk of exposing herself.

There was one incident in particular that comes to mind in regards to letting jobs get personal. She was on the hunt for a pedophile who abused girls and boys under the age of ten, took pictures and video of the abuse, and shared it with other pedophiles across the darknet. Seeing those images of those helpless children sickened her, reminding the hacker of a time when she was a helpless child. Anger started to rear its ugly head. She wanted to destroy this man and not just financially this time. She wanted him dead.

Levy traced the source to a man in Latvia. The hacker contacted authorities in the Eastern European country. However, they didn't (or wouldn't) arrest him. The blue haired woman was livid. Did they not care that children, their children, were being abused? She wouldn't stand for it. So Shadowgear decided to become judge, jury and executioner. Using her knowledge of both computers and mechanics, she created a letter bomb, capable of leveling a building. In her anger, she put both her real name and address on the return portion of the envelope. Levy wasn't thinking about the consequences. At best, she would be in possession of a deadly weapon and would be arrested as a terrorist. At worst, she would kill the man and possibly innocents.

It was only through the intervention of her friend and partner in crime, Lucy, that she was able to regain her senses. She learned about Levy's plan after finding schematics for the bomb on her computer. The blonde wasted no time to stop her from carrying out this attack. Together, they had disposed of the bomb without anyone noticing. Soon after, they contacted Interpol (anonymously, of course) with the information they had. Interpol arrested the pedophile and, by going through the man's computer, was able to break up a huge child porn ring in the process.

6. When the job is done, cover your tracks.

The reason Shadowgear has never been caught is because she leaves very little evidence that she ever even committed a crime. It's nearly impossible to leave no trace on computers without physically being there, even for someone like Levy. You can scrub your digital footprint as hard as you can but if someone knows where to look, they can find something and trace it back to you. But the hacker has several things going for her. One, her marks are criminals, which means that law enforcement are hardly interested in returning their money. Two, she never puts it in her personal account. Rather, she separates the money into smaller pieces and then bounces those smaller pieces around for several days, even weeks before funneling it into her shell company. With these precautions in place, all law enforcement knows is that Shadowgear has hit a criminal and has left no trace. And while she may brag on anonymous boards about her capers, she never gives anyone something that they could use.

These rules are why Levy McGarden is the best at what she does.

Levy was sitting at her computer in her room, as she often is. A half eaten ice cream bowl on her right and a bottle of water on her left, she was focused on combing through every last data found on Bora's computer: finances, business meetings, footage. The hacker wanted to leave no stone unturned. Data flashed onto the screen as Levy's eyes skimmed across it, processing megabytes of information in her head, looking for something.

Her friend and partner in crime, Lucy Heartfilia, was sitting on the futon, trying to watch some TV in the same room but her eye never wandered far from Levy. It was odd. Usually after a job, she is erasing all evidence of her incursion. But sometimes, Lucy would see a glint in Levy's eyes, like she found out something she didn't notice before. That's when she would go over all of the data again. Levy could be obsessive like that but that's what made her the best.

"Have you finished deleting all of the data from the Bora job?" Lucy asked.

Levy didn't answer.

Lucy got up from the futon and walked over to where Levy was sitting.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked.

Levy turned her attention to her friend. "Something's bugging me about the job." She answered.

"What's wrong?" Lucy pressed.

Levy entered in some keystrokes. Instantaneously, a piece of security footage popped up. Lucy took a look at it. It was a black and white picture of a man, late-forties, early fifties, Caucasian with a deep-set brow. Something about this man gave Lucy a chill.

Levy opened up a program on her computer. It started scanning the face of the man in the picture: eyes, nose, ears, lips, everything.

"This is from surveillance footage three weeks ago." Levy explained. "I'm running my facial recognition program to see if he's on any watch lists."

"Who is this man?" Lucy questioned.

"I've seen this man before." The hacker answered. "I just can't place where. But I know he's connected to the criminal world somehow."

"Do you need more processing power?" Lucy asked. "If so, I can open up the bookcase."

Lucy's eyes turned to an innocuously looking large bookcase filled with all kinds of books. To anyone looking at it, it would seem as though Levy really loved books. And while that is true, this bookcase hides a secret. (Levy is a fan of old school mysteries after all.) Hidden on the left side of the bookcase is a biometric strip. When either Levy or Lucy swipe their thumb across it, it will reveal a hidden door on the right hand side with a ten second time before it shuts. Then, the girls must head to the door. There, a retina display will scan their eyes. When it matches, the door will open leading to Levy's processing room. It is impossible to open this bookcase without passing through these two countermeasures. And why was this room protected? This is the room is where Levy carries out her attacks, running her botnet using the computers from Creative Solutions. The bookcase and the surrounding wall was especially made to withstand twenty sticks of dynamite. And should it somehow be breached, there are magnetized strips on either side of the bookcase, able to wipe out all data on the computers, leaving no trace behind of her crimes.

"I don't want to attract attention to myself after the Bora job." Levy told her friend. "I'm using my throwaway laptop."

Lucy said nothing. She stared at the picture as the laptop ran facial recognition. The blonde got the feeling that things were going to get more complicated in the coming weeks and months.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean he escaped?" Lieutenant Laxus Dreyar yelled at the enforcer sitting down in front of him.<p>

Sarasuke kept his down as he was castigated in the captain's office. It was embarrassing to say the least. Not only did was he knocked out and tied up by Kurogane, but he also stole his gun and walked out of the precinct. That alone was enough to get him suspended. The enforcer knew that it was his fault. He knew it was protocol never to go near criminals in holding without backup for exactly this reason. Now his fate lied with his superior and the leader of the Task Force.

"Do you have anything to say in your defense?" Captain Makarov Dreyar asked.

Sarasuke said nothing. What was there to say?

"Very well." Captain Dreyar said. "You will be transferred to Clover on inactive duty pending the end of internal affair's investigation. Clear your desk immediately."

The enforcer nodded and got up out of the hot seat. He spared his superiors one last look and walked out of the office.

Laxus and Makarov waited a couple of moments after Sarasuke's exit.

"Gajeel escaped completely undetected." Laxus told the captain.

"Good." Makarov replied.

"Laytis should be in right about now." The blond lieutenant sighed. "I'm going to speak with him now, prep him about everything."

The captain went through his desk and pulled out a file, sealed with red tape. On it read "Confidential: For Authorized Eyes Only". He handed it to his grandson.

"Have him read this." Captain Dreyar commanded. "While you are talking with Laytis, I will call Gildarts and tell him to expect Gajeel."

Laxus took the file and walked out of the captain's office.

As he was walking, he caught sight of Detective Strauss headed towards him.

Nathanial Strauss, although there aren't that many who call him by his real name. Most people call him Elfman, the nickname his sisters called him by. When asked why he was given that nickname, the detective would shrug his big shoulders and say that he couldn't remember. However, most people on the Task Force have a theory. He is so obsessed with manliness, from bulking up, boxing, weight lifting, wrestling, working on his muscle car, and so on. Physically, he is the largest enforcer in the FCTF, standing about 2.1 meters (7 feet) and at 136kgs (300 pounds). Criminals find him intimidating and he certainly can be. However, his friends and family know that he's actually a big softie.

Laxus and Elfman went to academy together and struck up an easy friendship. Just like him, the white haired enforcer was a hard worker. Spurned on by personal tragedy, Elfman pushed himself to not only succeed in graduating, but also exceed everyone's expectation. This, in turn, made Laxus work even harder. They finished out the Academy with a one-two punch, Laxus graduating first in the class and Elfman getting second.

They were transferred to the same precinct in Crocus. Laxus was mentored by Macao Conbolt while Elfman had Wakaba Mine teach him the ropes. When the greenhorn in them was stamped out, the two of them partnered up and worked the streets. Laxus and Elfman were an unstoppable force. Together, they had arrested over 200 drug dealers and solved over a hundred cases.

Just as Laxus skyrocketed through the ranks of the Task Force, so did Elfman. Currently he holds the rank of Detective Sergeant, meaning that he is FTCF's lead investigator of major crimes, including drug racketeering and murder. He is also, after the captain Makarov Dreyar, the Lieutenant Laxus Dreyar, and the Crocus precinct chief, the top agent at this particular office.

"Laxus." The white haired detective called out to his superior.

"What is it, Elfman?" The lieutenant asked.

"Bora's lawyered up." Elfman replied. "He's got..."

"Minerva Orland. I know." Laxus sighed. "We need to make sure that all of the evidence we have on Bora is on point. Make sure you coordinate that."

"We may have a bigger problem." Elfman warned. "My wife drew the Bora case. Minerva is going to argue conflict of interest because I was the arresting detective.

"Shit." Laxus cursed, pinching his brow.

"What do we do?" The muscled detective asked. "She'll probably beat us to death with this."

Laxus racked his brain, trying to think of something. Then, an idea popped in his head. "I'll call Justine."

Elfman nodded. "Now what are we going to do about the escaped bodyguard? Do you want me to search for him?"

Laxus shook his head. "I've got people on it already. I need you to get everything on the Bora case prepared, dot every i and cross every t."

"Gotcha." Elfman grinned. "Oh, before I forget, my sis is going to have a barbeque at my house."

Laxus smirked. "Mira's cooking? Count me in."

Elfman turned around and gave his friend a half hearted wave. Laxus, meanwhile, walked through the Crocus precinct and headed to his destination. He reached a door with a frosted glass window. There were letters on it.

**Computer Forensics**

Laxus opened the door and was greeted with the sound of keys clacking on a keyboard. COMPFOR, as it often shortened within the Task Force, is a relatively new division. Created in 1995, it was originally set up to digitally archive case files written from FCTF's inception. But with the creation of the internet and cyber crimes, COMPFOR became Fiore's most sophisticated weapon, dedicated to using the latest technology to solve crimes.

Laxus looked around and saw many people no older than 25 typing away on computer. Cyber crimes is a young man's game after all. Most of them were going through the footage taken from Bora's nightclub, running facial recognition software on everyone.

"Ahh, you've arrived." A mirthful voice called out to Laxus.

Laxus turned in the direction of the voice and looked crossed at him.

"Dammit, Laytis." Laxus growled. "When I call you in, you come in."

The man in question just smiled.

Meet Hibiki Laytis, head of Computer Forensics.

He is the son of an American soldier, Maxwell Laytis, who was stationed on a base in Okinawa and a Japanese woman who delivered supplies to the base. When the two met, it was like love at first sight. Eventually, they married and had a son. Hibiki grew up an army brat, shuffling around bases in Italy, Madrid, Northern Africa, Fiore and the Pacific. This upbringing gave him an unusual education, shaping him into a worldly-cultured, suave individual.

At 16, Hibiki attended M.I.T. and majored in computer science. He took to it like a fish to water, absorbing the knowledge of his teachers. Soon, he was outstripping them. He was creating programs that would eventually revolutionize the computer world. He created a system that connected your computer to one's house and controlled lights switches and appliances through the internet. He also created protocols countermeasures to prevent hackers from gaining access to important files.

Many institutions were scouting him, trying to pick up this computer whiz: Apple, Microsoft, G.E, etc. In fact, letters were coming in with such frequency that Hibiki would return to his place after classes to find his mailbox overflowing. But one caught his eye, that of Makarov Dreyar, captain of the Fiore Criminal Task Force. He was looking for someone who could create a database of criminals that could be accessed from anywhere. It was such an unusual request that he decided to go to Fiore. Not only was he able to complete the task in record time, he also did the Task Force one better. He created a cloud storage system that can scan license plates, fingerprints, and other data from an enforcer's smart phone and connect them to FCTF's digital archive. Captain Dreyar was so impressed that he offered Hibiki a permanent job as head of Computer Forensics and Technologies.

And for the past six years, this is where he has been, helping the Task Force fight crime. Hibiki is so good at his job that many people nicknamed him "The Archive".

"Laxus, you are too tense." Hibiki smiled. "You need to relax. Go to a movie, see a play, wine and dine a beautiful lady. You are still so young. You should be sowing your wild oats instead of stuffing yourself in your office, working cases."

Laxus gave the man a dour look.

All great men have a weakness. If Hibiki was to have one, it would be the ladies. He loved them. A Casanova by reputation, it was as if every week he had a different woman on his arm. It wasn't unusual to hear him dating three or four girls at a time. Don't get me wrong. He treats them right. He's always the consummate gentleman, holding doors, buying gifts, treating them with respect. Someone would call it philandering; Hibiki would prefer to call it 'playing the field'. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. But considering that he is the HEAD of COMPFOR, his job requires him to be available at all times. Unfortunately, that isn't the case.

"I needed you to go through the data from the Bora pickup." Laxus commanded. "Where were you?"

Before Hibiki could speak, Laxus held up his hand. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

"I was with a champion drinker." Hibiki chuckled. "She was amazing. Downed two barrels of beer before dinner and two after. Couldn't keep up with her. I have the worst headache."

Laxus narrowed his eyes. "Shut up." He commanded. "I've got to speak to you on an important matter."

"Before that, I wanted to talk to you about Bora's computer." Hibiki responded.

Finally, he thought. Something relevant to the case at hand. "Go on." Laxus said.

"It seems that prior to his arrest, he made a call to someone." The Archive explained. "It was to an encrypted satellite phone. Seconds later, he was sent an email with a link to a phishing site. He clicked on it and entered personal information."

Laxus was now curious. "What personal information?"

"Bank accounts and routing numbers." Hibiki told him. He then pulled out his tablet. With a few swipes and taps of his fingers, he pulled up a page and showed it to Laxus. "This is a piece of the page we were able to recover from the computer."

Laxus investigated it. "This is the phishing page?" He asked.

Hibiki nodded. "Looks just as real as any legitimate page. I don't think that Bora knew the difference. Whatever's the case, his keyboard is logged typing in all the relevant information."

"Did you call the bank?" Laxus asked.

"You should know that these banks protect their client's privacy." Hibiki explained.

"Even though this guy is a criminal?" Laxus huffed.

"Especially if they are criminals." Hibiki told the lieutenant. "You wouldn't believe how much dirty money is in these banks."

"So we can't find out anything on how much money is in the account." The blonde detective said.

Hibiki was quiet for a moment. Laxus noticed it immediately.

"Come into my office." Hibiki asked.

With that, the head of computer forensics led the lieutenant past the men and women on computers into his office. Hibiki shut the door.

Hibiki's office, unlike his life, was very sparse. A mahogany desk was the only conceit in the room. His personal computer sat upon it, ready to boot up at a moment's notice. His laptop was also on the desk, charging. There were two chairs in front of the desk and one swivel chair behind it for him to sit. But that was it. There were no family pictures, no pictures of girlfriends, none of the awards he earned, nothing. It was if there was a split between his professional life and his personal one.

Hibiki knelt down to the power brick of his PC. He took out his wallet and pulled out a plastic card. He pressed it to the brick. In an instant, his computer turned on. He turned around to Laxus, who looked amazed at what happened.

"An RFID power brick." Hibiki explained. "My computer hosts many sensitive files. It would be unwise to have just one countermeasure for unwanted entry."

Laxus nodded.

Hibiki sat down and started typing. He finished and turned the computer screen towards Laxus. "I was able to find out how much money Bora had in his accounts."

"How?"

Hibiki took a deep breath. "How I did it isn't quite legal, sir."

"What did you do?" Laxus asked.

"I pretended to be one of Bora's creditors, requesting information on his account." Hibiki explained. "They told me that yesterday, Bora had the equivalent of 35 million jewels in the bank. Today, he has nothing."

"He's broke?" Laxus's voice raised an octave.

"I was running through the books where Bora keeps the assets from his clubs, extrapolated what he makes selling X from his declared income and spending habits." Hibiki told the lieutenant. "You seized his clubs and home as part of a corrupt enterprise and someone stole his international funds. I'd guesstimate that he has about three million liquid somewhere."

"Can you trace where the money went?" Laxus demanded.

"If I had put a trace on it beforehand, I could have followed where it was sent through the digital banking system." Hibiki answered. "Unfortunately, the money was broken up into pieces, making it harder to track. On top of that, it was sent to multiple banks: Shanghai, Madrid, New York, Crocus, Sao Paulo. Bottom line is, it's gone."

"The stolen money, will this hurt us when it comes to trial?" Laxus asked.

"It's a coin toss." Hibiki told him. "Justice can argue that he still has assets out there. His lawyer could say that we stole them or he doesn't have any. We can link the account to Bora but with no money in it..."

"Is there any way to tell who stole the money?" Laxus pressed.

"Well, I went through his computer and saw some errant code, the telltale sign of a Trojan." Hibiki said. "Hackers like to personalize their codes so that they could brag to other hackers that they've hit a certain person. Then there is the virus that made pop-ups of those black gears. With all of this evidence, I can confidently say that this is the work of ShadowGear."

Laxus sighed. Just what he needed. An unwanted variable. This was suppose to be an open and shut case. Gajeel risked his life to bust this guy and now everything could be sucked down the drain. Especially with Minerva defending this bastard.

"What about the footage?"

"That's a slam dunk." The Archive smirked confidently. "We have his guys on tape selling X to club patrons. He is then shown receiving money from his guys for the drugs. He won't be able to argue that."

"Good." Laxus sighed. At least something's going his way. "I want your guys working on this round the clock."

Hibiki nodded.

"There is another thing I must talk to you about." Laxus told him. "Raise the SCIF tent."

Hibiki's eyes widened. There was a bit of a hesitation in his movements but he reached under his desk for a button. He pressed and held it for a moment. Electronically, the office door was locked, the blinds were drawn and a whirring sound echoed throughout the room.

"The SCIF is up." Hibiki breathed.

Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. In the Fiore Criminal Task Force, there are three such rooms: the Sensitive Archive Room which requires level black clearance, the Captain's office, and this room. When the SCIF button is pressed, it automatically shuts and locks all doors and windows. It then creates a dead zone that blocks wireless connection and phone service. It also dampens sounds from being heard outside of the room.

Laxus handed Hibiki the file given to him by the captain. Hibiki saw the Confidential: For Authorized Eyes Only label on red tape. He snapped the tape and opened the file. He was greeted by a face that looked awfully familiar to him.

"This is the bodyguard that was snatched up with Bora?" He asked.

"That's our agent, Gajeel Redfox." Laxus told him. "Codename on the street, Kurogane. He has been instrumental in taking down several gangs vying for control of Fiore."

Hibiki scanned through the file, reading up on the man.

"Why are you giving me this information?" Hibiki asked.

"The Task Force is going after a cartel that's selling a new drug, Magic Bullet." Laxus told him. "We have reason to believe that they are trying to make a play in Fiore. The captain and I need you on this, to give him technical support. Only a few people know of his connection to FCTF. You are now one of them. Any information that I collect on this mission, you may use the people here to process it. Anything that he collects, you, and only you, goes through it."

Hibiki felt a bit of pressure on him. In the six years he had worked for the Task Force, he was never entrusted with this kind of information. He felt a mixture of gratitude, nervousness and pride.

"At the end of the file, you'll find an address." Laxus continued. " In about two hours, I want you to go over there and set up the place. All the best gizmos and gadgets. Whatever he needs to complete the mission."

Hibiki nodded.

"When you are done reading the file, destroy it." Laxus commanded.

Hibiki saw the address on a sticky note at the end of the file. He grabbed it and put it in his pocket. He put the file in his cross-shredder, destroying it for good. With that, he undid the SCIF.

"I won't let you down, Lieutenant." Hibiki said.

* * *

><p>Bora Eminentia was in a courtroom with his lawyer, Minerva Orland, waiting his turn for arraignment. Back when he was working for White Fang, he swore that he would never come back to this place again. Yet, here he is, like a common criminal. The last time, he was dragged out of the courts with, arms and legs shackled and his head down. This time though, he was walking out a free man with his head held high. And it will be all thanks to his lawyer.<p>

Minerva Orland

Think of any bad qualities attributable to lawyers. Minerva personifies them and then some. Ruthless, cold, manipulative and cunning, those are just a few adjectives to describe the way she works. She is a legal genius who has been trying cases in open court when others were just learning how to drive. Unlike many lawyers in her firm, Minerva is actually knowledgeable in many scientific fields, including DNA retrieval, fire science (i.e. arson), poison testing, cybercrimes among others. Because of this, the woman nicknamed the Sabertooth can attack the prosecution's witnesses with actual scientific facts. And when she attacks, she goes for the jugular. Her cross examinations beatdowns are not limited to scientists and law enforcement officers. She has attacked witnesses and even victims of crimes. She's rude and crude, but she wins cases.

Needless to say that her style of judicial combat has not made Minerva many friends. She is rude and condescending to nearly everyone, even her own clients. In fact, she has received death threats on a daily basis. Because of this, she has a security detail watching over her at all times, making sure that no one gets close. Many people in law enforcement hate her. But no one can deny that she is the best criminal defense lawyer in all of Fiore. She can almost guarantee her clients either mistrials, reduced sentences, or even acquittals. But she doesn't come cheap. Starting at 100,000j for a retainer fee, you get the best defense money can buy.

He looked to his left. The lawyer from Justice, Evergreen Strauss, was adjusting papers on her podium. They were most likely cliff notes on how to present this case to the judge. He snorted. That bitch will get hers someday.

"Docket # 39783719: Justice vs. Bora Eminentia." The bailiff called out. "Charged with three counts Trafficking in the first degree, nine counts Possession with intent to sell, and 18 counts Racketing."

Bora and Minerva stepped into the galley to present themselves before the judge.

"The honorable Judge Jura Neekis presiding." The bailiff announced.

Everyone stood at attention as a large bald man entered the courtroom in judge's robes. He took his place on the bench and grabbed his gavel. With a bang, court was in session.

"Evergreen Strauss, Assistant Justice Barrister for the Prosecution, Your Honor." Evergreen addressed the court politely.

"Minerva Orland for the Defense, Your Honor." Minerva addressed the court just as politely.

"How does your client plead, Miss Orland?" Judge Neekims asked.

"He pleads Not Guilty." Minerva replied.

"Prosecution on bail, Miss Strauss?" Jura asked Evergreen.

"Justice requests remand, Your Honor." Evergreen replied. "The defendant is charged with 30 counts of A-1 felonies."

"None of which he has been convicted of yet." Minerva interrupted.

"We have witnesses that will testify that Mr. Eminentia was the kingpin of Titan Nose, selling cocaine, Ecstasy, and Rohipnol in his clubs." Evergreen powered through the interruption.

"These so-called witnesses made deals with the Prosecution for reduced sentences." Minerva interrupted again. "They'll say anything the Prosecution wants just to take a couple years off of their terms."

"None of this is relevant to bail." The judge said.

"Your Honor," Minerva said in a soft voice. "My client is the owner of several clubs in Fiore, many of which are frequented by celebrities. We do not claim that drugs aren't sold in his clubs. We only claim that he had no knowledge about it. We request that he be released on his own recognizance."

"Mr. Eminentia has near unlimited resources and can leave the country at any time." Evergreen replied.

"My client has ties to the community and a very invested interest in clearing his name." Minerva shot back.

Judge Neekims banged his gavel.

"Counselors, please." He stopped them.

"Justice Strauss has a bone to pick in this fight." Minerva continued. "Her husband is Detective Sergeant of the Crocus Precinct of the Fiore Criminal Task Force."

"Neither here nor there." Evergreen snapped back. "My husband's job at the Task Force is irrelevant to the case at hand, unless the defense can prove conflict of interest."

"It's the appearance of impropriety, Your Honor." Minerva smoothly answered. "How can a jury be impartial if the Prosecution is sleeping with the someone with the Task Force." She smirked at the Prosecutor, as if she had achieved victory.

Evergreen glared daggers at her adversary. How dare she use Elfman against her? She'll pay.

"Justice versus Vidaldus Taka." Evergreen stated a case. "A Prosecutor cannot be removed from a case because of a relationship with a third party unless it can be proved that there is a conflict of interest."

Minerva's smirk was wiped off of her face immediately. She didn't expect this woman to quote a ruling from that case. She wasn't prepared. It took her off guard.

"Miss Orland?" Judge Neekims asked.

Minerva was silent. She nodded subtly. This one wasn't bad at all. She'll have fun with this one.

"Then Defense has forty-eight hours to prove that the Prosecution cannot be impartial." Judge Neekims said. "As for bail, it's set to 10 million, cash or bond. Mr. Eminentia will also surrender his passport and be fitted for an electronic bracelet. He is ordered not to leave Crocus or his bail will be revoked."

With a bang of his gavel, Arraignment was done. Bora was lead by court officers to Processing. Minerva and Evergreen stepped out of the galley and out of the courtroom.

"Not bad, Mrs. Strauss." Minerva said in a sickeningly sweet and grating voice. "I wasn't expecting that."

Evergreen turned up her nose at the woman. "You aren't going to throw me off this case because of my husband."

Minerva shook her head. A wicked smirk crept on her face, like she wanted to gut the woman. "No. Now I want you on this case." She replied. "I will tear you apart in court. Just you wait."

Evergreen kept her cool. "You should know that I will not be the only one prosecuting your client."

"Bring whomever you want." Minerva chuckled. "The results will remain the same. But just for the sake of curiosity, who is it?"

This time, Evergreen smirked. "Executive Assistant Barrister Freed Justine."

Minerva's eyes widened. To think that Justine would be going up against her... He was one of Justice's greatest legal minds. She had gone up against him in the past and has seen first hand how good he was.

A nasty smile cracked her face. "Justine, huh?" She chuckled. "This is getting very interesting. Now if you'll excuse me, I must speak with my client."

With that she walked away towards Processing, leaving a stone-face Evergreen in her wake.

Bora and Minerva walked out of the courthouse after being fitted with his ankle bracelet. The lawyer's limo was waiting for them. One of her bodyguards, a large blond-haired man, was standing in front of the open door. The two climbed inside. When they were secured, the bodyguard closed the door behind them. A minute later, they were off.

As the limo proceeded, Bora took a moment to examine the ankle bracelet. It was rather irritating. It reminded him that he wasn't free yet.

"You were suppose to get me free." Bora sneered.

"This was the best situation." Minerva said coolly.

"I'm the one wearing a fucking bracelet like an animal." The club owner yelled.

"You are a fucking animal." The lawyer quipped.

"Bitch." Bora snapped.

The limo screeched to a halt. Minerva grabbed him by the collar of his dress shirt and pulled him towards her face. Bora was a bit terrified. She was unusually strong for a lawyer, especially a female lawyer.

"You listen to me, bitch." Minerva sneered. "For any other lawyer, your case is unwinnable. I'm the only one who can help you get out of this without spending the rest of your life in jail. If you want my services, you better shape the fuck up and do as I say. Otherwise, I drop you and you're on your own. That means, you aren't to leave Crocus for any reason. You aren't to contact anyone associated with your club. You will keep to yourself and order take out until everything is resolved. They probably have bugged your house so no phone calls that you don't want them to hear. Do you understand me?"

Bora straightened like a board. "Yes." He squeaked.

Minerva let go of Bora. She banged on the limo door. Immediately, it started moving again.

"Besides, your life is about to become ten times harder." Minerva snorted. "Freed Justine will be trying your case."

Bora's eyes widened. Everyone in organized crime knew of Freed Justine. Now he was very worried.

"I've beaten him before." Minerva told him. "Do what I say and keep your mouth shut. I'll handle Justine."

The limo came to a slow stop. Minerva motioned with her head for Bora to leave. Bora stepped out of the limo. He was in front of his house. The club owner stepped in as the limo took off.

Immediately he ran to his kitchen. The Task Force probably went through everything with a fine tooth comb. Hopefully, they missed a couple of things.

Bora's kitchen was simple enough. He wasn't one for cooking. He has a maid to take care of that. But she was probably detained as a material witness. No matter.

He went to the counter where his knife block rest. He lifted it and put his hand on the bottom. There was a catch release. He popped it open. Out dropped a disposable cell phone. He smirked. Trial or not, he had a business to run.

* * *

><p>222 Phantom Lane, Apt. 4AB, Magnolia<p>

Gajeel had finally arrived at the address given to him by Captain Dreyar after stopping by his old place to pick up clothes, his cell phone and other necessary items in his all purpose duffel bag. It was here that the undercover agent was to receive his briefing from his handler.

He opened the door and headed up the stairs to the fourth floor. He found the apartment he was looking for almost immediately. 4AB was staring at him in the face. For some reason, the shorthairs on the back of his neck went up. He grabbed the gun and pointed it at the door. Gajeel slowly put his hand on the handle.

Quick as a shot, Gajeel opened the door, checking for threats. Seeing none, he slowly advanced inside. As he moved through the threshold, his hands were grabbed by an unknown assailant. The undercover agent was disarmed and thrown to the ground. He felt a heavy knee on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Not bad." A voice said. "You didn't enter a room until before clearing it. That's smart. However, you should anticipate that there may be a target waiting for you by the door."

Gajeel opened his eyes (which he didn't know was closed). Before he realized it, he was standing upright and staring at a huge man with russet hair and a scraggly beard. The long haired man grinned. He knew that he was standing in front of the legend himself, Gildarts Clive.

Everyone in Fiore knew about Gildarts Clive. There were books and movies devoted to this man. This man was THE infiltration master, the super soldier. He was like James Bond, Jack Bauer, Solid Snake and Sam Fisher all rolled up in one. No one in Fiore, hell, probably no one in the world was better than him. A master in several disciplines of unarmed combat, proficiency with many weapons, and fluent in six languages, including Mandarin, Spanish, and German, you couldn't find someone better suited to fight gang violence than this man. Even after pushing fifty, he was able to overpower Gajeel and he was no pushover.

Even with the wind knocked out of him, Gajeel managed to grin. Gildarts was both his idol and his goal. He wanted to stand on the same plateau as this man and one day surpass him.

"Welcome to your new home, Gajeel." Gildarts greeted in a cheerful voice that didn't really suit him. "This will be your base of operations and a safe place to lay your head as you go after Magic Bullet."

"What is Magic Bullet?" Gajeel asked.

"It's the newest drug on the street." Gildarts answered. "Word on the street is that it's like meth, entirely synthetic. It flares up receptors in the brain, releasing high levels of serotonin and dopamine. I can explain in detail later but first we need to get you situated."

Before Gildarts could begin, Gajeel's phone started ringing. The two stop what they were doing. Gildarts looked at Gajeel.

"Why did you bring your cell phone with you?" Gildarts asked, his eyes narrowing.

"It's a disposable." Gajeel explained. "It's from when I was working Titan Nose."

"Answer it." The older agent commanded.

Gajeel opened his duffel bag and shuffled through the contents until he found the cell phone. He pulled it out.

"Put it on speaker." Gildarts ordered.

Gajeel pressed the call and put it on speaker.

"Yeah." Gajeel answered.

"Kurogane" A voice answered from the phone. "Is it safe to talk?"

"Yeah boss." Gajeel replied. He turned to Gildarts and mouthed out the word Bora to him. Gildarts nodded.

"I heard you escaped Task Force custody." Bora chuckled.

"I'm no snitch, boss." Gajeel answered in his Kurogane persona.

"Glad to hear." Bora said.

"Is this line secure?" Gajeel asked.

"Assume that it isn't and that we don't have much time." Bora told his bodyguard. "I need a favor from you. Can you do it?"

Gajeel looked at Gildarts. The older man nodded slightly, giving him the green light.

"What do you need?" Gajeel said, offering his services once again to the head of Titan Nose.

"This trial is going to get me pinned down but I refuse to lose this opportunity." Bora growled. "Remember those two men from the Black Hunter gang? I want you to make contact with them."

Once again, Gajeel looked to Gildarts for conformation. Surprisingly, he smirked. He mouthed out the words 'do it' to Gajeel.

"You got it, boss." The long haired man responded with confidence.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of that chapter.<strong>

**This chapter was a lot longer before I edited it. When it comes to stories, I find that I want to tell so much in one sitting. I need to find that balance of keeping the reader in suspense while simultaneously not bombarding them with too much. I had too much going on in the story. I was explaining Magic Bullet in detail, Gildarts' role in the FCTF, and introducing five new characters. I had to draw the line somewhere. So I decided to introduce Hibiki (to the delight of one of my reviewers who is his biggest fan), Minerva and Gildarts. Freed and the other person will have to wait until next chapter. So will a better explanation of Gildarts.**

**Before you ask, the reason I gave Elfman the real name of Nathanial in the story is because I couldn't justify calling him Elfman in the real world without some sort of explanation. So it was either his parents were hippies or it's a nickname. I went with the latter.**

**Some of you will probably take exception to Levy's actions concerning the letter bomb. But I need to give her some dark, ugly, unlikable characteristics to make her more human. I know that she's a hacker and everything but she has to have a dark side. That's my opinion.**

**I know that there are many computer terms that may be unfamiliar with people. I'll be happy to make a list of what it is if there is interest.**

**As for the legal battle between Bora and Minerva vs Freed and Evergreen. I need something that brings both Gajeel's world and Levy's world together. This is one of those pieces. Trust me when I say that it's necessary.**

**So, loved it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Until next time,**

**A. Angel**


	4. Black Hunter

**Hello, boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.**

**And so we reach chapter three. I'm so happy to hear the feedback I've been getting for this story. It feels great to write a full length story that people like. I hope that you'll continue to read and send me reviews. Reading them gives me great joy to know how much people enjoy this.  
><strong>

**By the way, that last chapter. Hoo boy, Levy. You finally got some air time. And what a way to get it. My GaLe (Gajevy?) feels went on overtime. Don't get me wrong. I was enjoying the Gruvia feels and now GaLe. I'm in shipper's paradise.**

**Anyways, onto the chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Black Hunter<strong>

Magic Bullet, the newest drug on the scene.

No one knows its actual name, even by those in the field of medicine. No one knows where it came from, how it's produced, what chemicals make up its components and in what volumes, why it was made or who developed it. All the evidence points that it's somewhere in Germany as that's where it is highly concentrated. One thing that is known about it is that, like methamphetamine, it is entirely synthetic.

Magic Bullet is both a hallucinogen and an amphetamine. It causes increased appetite, increased heart rate, paranoia, insomnia, increased energy, bouts between increased focus and lack of focus, feelings of euphoria and hallucinations. Prolonged use can cause hypertension, some digestive problems, internal hemorrhage and eventually death. Because it is an amphetamine, there is a very high risk of addiction. Because it's a hallucinogen, there is a high risk of psychosis.

Its worst effect is in withdrawal. It can be painful: sweats, twitches, itches, depression and, in some cases, seizures with foaming at the mouth. Like any drug, it becomes less effective the longer it's taken. In turn, to get the same high, one needs to take more, leading to a risk of a fatal overdose.

Most drugs have one or two method of delivery, most often injection. However, Magic Bullet has five methods of delivery. And, depending on the delivery, its effects can be quick or slow. In its solid pill form it can be ingested for a high that will come some hours later when it is absorbed in the small intestine. It can be crushed and snorted for a more immediate but short lasting high. In its liquid form, it can be applied on a transdermal patch that can be absorbed through the skin for a steady high throughout the day or be immediately injected into the blood stream for an immediate, long lasting high. And it can be crushed and rolled in tobacco paper for a high for the duration of the smoke. This is what makes Magic Bullet so special...and what makes so dangerous.

Magic Bullet is produced by a man known only as Der Freischütz. Both the drug and its creator's name are derived from an opera by Carl Maria von Weber. The story goes that a hunter sold his soul to the devil for six magic bullets (in some stories, it's seven) that can shoot down any target, no matter the difficulty.

Der Freischütz's gang, Black Hunter, comes from the same opera. Started sometime in the 90's, they were small time back then, dealing crystal meth in the Brandenburg region. However, sometime in 2010, their fortunes change thanks to Magic Bullet. With it, they were able to control nearly all vice in Germany in two years. Black Hunter made alliances with many criminal organizations in Europe, allowing them to branch out to Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and France in four years. In 2015, the Black Hunter gang was named by Interpol as the most dangerous force in Europe.

And now, in 2016, their next target is Fiore. As mentioned before, Fiore is the gateway between Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Gildarts explained all of this to Gajeel and why the Black Hunter gang and Magic Bullet was a threat to Fiore. The Task Force actually have an advantage. The Black Hunter gang didn't have a presence in this country yet so it would be much easier to root them out now. If they were to wait, who knows when or even if they could get rid of them.

So when Bora told Gajeel to make contact with the two from Black Hunter, it was like manna from heaven. The leader of Titan Nose wanted to make an alliance with the gang from Germany. But because he was on trial, he couldn't do the deal himself so he handed the task to his bodyguard and confidante, Kurogane, not knowing that the long haired man was actually the reason that he is currently in jail.

Bora directed Gajeel to go to a gym where one of his drug runners worked to collect money for the deal. Normally, when Gajeel was working a sting, he would be decked out in surveillance gear from head to toe. He'd have a hidden camera in the piercings of his eyebrows and a omnidirectional mic in the piercings of his ears. But he gave those to Laxus after he was arrested. Black Hunter wanted to meet in two hours which wasn't enough time to get him set up. So he was going to have to do things solo.

He saw a guy at the reception desk. One look at the man and he knew that was the guy, piercings in the eyebrows, face tattoo, and other physical qualities in a guy you don't bring home to mama. Gajeel dug into his pockets and pulled out a deck of cards. He started shuffling and walked up to the desk.

The man in question tried to put on his professional face. "Welcome." He said. "Can I interest you in a monthly membership?"

Gajeel said nothing. Instead, he continued shuffling.

The guy gave the long haired man a sour look. "Are you going to stand there shuffling?" He said gruffly. "I've got other things to do."

"I'm looking to make an appointment with Cronus." Gajeel explained. As he did, he pulled out the ace of spades, the ace of hearts, the eight of diamonds and the eight of clubs. For those in the know, this was the way that people in Titan Nose knew each other. "Is he in?"

The receptionist went under the desk and pulled out a key. He threw it at Gajeel. "5513." He said.

Gajeel nodded and walked over to the locker room. He looked for locker 5513 and found that it was in an isolated corner. Even so, he looked left and right to make sure that there was no one around. When there wasn't one, he opened the locker. There was nothing in there but that didn't throw Gajeel off one bit. He knocked on the back of the locker and found a hollow point. The long haired man pushed the hollow point in and found that it was a door. There was a gym bag that Gajeel knew was filled with money. Good old Bora.

The undercover officer pulled out the bag and put it on his shoulder. Money secured, Gajeel walked out of the locker room, passing by the reception desk. He threw the key at the man.

"Tell Cronus I'm cancelling." Gajeel told him. With that, he walked out of the gym.

So now, Gajeel was standing in the street with a bag full of cash. Other people would be nervous in his situation. Not this man. This man knew no fear. In fact, he made fear feel fear (if that makes any sense).

Gajeel heard the honk of a horn. He turned in the direction of the horn. Headlights flashed from a car. The long haired man went over to the car. As he did, the window on the passenger side rolled down. A man with long blond hair peeked out.

"Get in the back." He said with a crazed look in his eye.

"I remember you two." Gajeel said. "Azuma and Zancrow?"

"I said get in the back." Zancrow demanded.

Gajeel shrugged his shoulders and got in the back. As he did, he mentally confirmed that the dark skinned guy driving the car and the blond guy in the passenger side were the same people from the club from before. When he was properly secured, the car drove off.

As soon as they hit the highway, the blond guy turned around with a gun pointed directly at Gajeel.

"Take off your shirt." The blond ordered.

Gajeel didn't even blink. Normal people in this situation would focus on the gun but the long haired man focused on the man's face, matching him glare for glare.

"Buy me dinner first?" Gajeel joked in a detached manner.

"I ain't kidding. Take off your shirt." He repeated. "I wanna check you for a wire."

Gajeel shrugged his shoulders, unhooked the bag and took of his shirt. The blond watched saw naked skin, marred with scars, piercings on his arms and no wire. But he did see the handle of a gun sticking out of his pants.

"Gimme the gun." The blond man demanded.

With deliberate slowness, Gajeel handed the man his gun.

"Open the bag and empty it out." The blond continued ordering the pierced man.

Gajeel opened up the bag and dumped out the cash, two hundred stacks of 10,000 in all.

"Hand me the bag." Zancrow demanded.

Gajeel threw the bag in the blond's direction. He dug through the bag looking for a wire.

"Can I put my shirt back on while you look for a wire that isn't there?" Gajeel asked in a bored tone.

The man with the gun didn't give him an answer so the undercover agent put back on his shirt. As he was fitting his head inside, Gajeel felt the bag being thrown at his stomach.

"Why are you here?" The blond wanted to know.

"Bora wanted..." The long haired man started.

"So why would he send you?" The man driving the car, Azuma, asked.

"He's dealing with something." Gajeel explained.

"He's going to jail." Azuma said, leaving no room for discussion.

The undercover officer's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Funny thing." Zancrow continued. "Justice has video evidence, signed confessions, and the drugs. They even have audio of him making these deals."

How did they get that information? Did they go to Justice and found out the information or worse, did they have someone in Justice? He'd have to tell Gildarts about this.

"For Justice to have this kind of information, Bora would need to have been betrayed by someone in his organization." Zancrow cocked the hammer of his gun and aimed it at Gajeel's head. "Someone close to him."

Gajeel snorted. "Yeah, you got it." He said with an edge of sarcasm. "It was me. Good job, Sherlock. And it was also me who called you, faking both Bora's number and his voice. Then I got two million jewels in untraceable bills, got into a car with two members of a notorious criminal gang with no wire and no backup, allowing you take my gun and letting you drive me on the highway. Now, I'm going to let you take me to an isolated location where you'll shoot me in the head with no witnesses because I'm the smartest undercover cop in the world. Are you for fucking real?" He sniped.

Gajeel learned a lot in his seven years working undercover. Most important of all is the ability to lie convincingly. Normally, his appearance does most of the work for him. But sometimes, there would be the odd person who questions Gajeel's intentions. The art of lying in his line of work is the difference between life and death. Would you like to know the trick? Confidence. If you believe what you're saying, they'll believe it too.

Zancrow observed Gajeel's face, looking for any sign of a tell. The long haired man didn't betray anything. He wasn't sweating, no eye twitches, no finger tapping, no labored breathing...nothing. Means one of two things. Either he was telling the truth or he really didn't care whether he lived or died. And that made this guy interesting.

"But answer me this." Gajeel posited. "Two guys come in. They talk to a guy who has been rumored to have drug connections. Several minutes later, enforcers from the Task Force arrest him and his bodyguard. So should I be worried that this is a sting to get more information out of me to use on Bora?"

Zancrow grinned. This guy is good. The blond put his gun away and gave Gajeel back his.

"I like you." He laughed. "I think we could really be good friends if our boss wants to do business with your boss."

Gajeel shrugged his shoulders.

"Too bad that's not going to happen." Zancrow cackled.

An upturned eyebrow was the only indication that he even heard that.

"Bora's going to jail and that's that." He sing-sang in a off-key tone. "You're going to be unemployed in a couple of days."

"Your point?" Gajeel asked.

"We could use a guy like you working for us." Zancrow said.

Though Gajeel's face was impassive, inside he was completely shocked. It couldn't be that simple. This was probably the most dangerous cartel in Europe outside of Russian mafia gangs. And they were just going to let him in? Impossible. If they were as dangerous as Gildarts led him to believe, there's no way that it would be that easy. Was this a test?

"Not interested." The undercover officer said in his most even tone. He didn't want immediately say yes and give them a reason to doubt him. He had to slow play them if wanted to be taken seriously. "I work for Titan Nose."

Zancrow laughed. "There isn't gonna to be a Titan Nose after Bora is busted. A man like you should be thinking about his future."

The way that the blond said that made Gajeel think that he had an ulterior motive. And he had a good idea what motive was.

"You just want whatever's left of Bora's drugs." Gajeel surmised.

"Well, that would just be the price of admission." The blond continued. "I'm sure that someone like Bora has huge stashes just piled up. It'd be a shame if all of that doesn't get sold. It'd be like sitting on a lottery ticket and not cashing in."

"That would mean betraying Bora and I'm not interested in that." The undercover officer said. "My loyalty is to Titan Nose."

Zancrow was silent for a moment. This guy was loyal to his gang. Loyalty before dishonor. It was an admirable quality in their world. A man like that was hard to find. It made Zancrow want Gajeel more.

"You really should join." The blond crowed.

"No." Azuma finally spoke. "He broke out of jail just to get here, which means the Task Force is looking for him."

The car came to a sudden stop. Gajeel looked around to see where they were.

"Magnolia?" Gajeel asked.

"Get out." Azuma commanded.

This confused the undercover agent. He must have let it shown.

"If we keep you on, they'll find you. They'll connect you to us. If we kill you, your dead body would lead the Task Force to us and we'd be arrested for murder. Either way, not interested." Azuma said.

Gajeel didn't say a word. This guy was smart. The way that he surmised that was impressive. He could handle the blond because for all of his mouth, he was a hothead. This guy could be trouble.

"Did I stutter?" The driver asked. "Get out."

Gajeel opened the car door and grabbed the gym bag. As he did, the long haired man heard the click of the gun hammer.

"The money stays here." Zancrow growled.

"My money stays, I stay." Gajeel retorted. "If you want my money, you'll have to shoot me."

Gajeel silently dared Zancrow to shoot him with his eyes. "I'll be taking my money now." With deliberate slowness, Gajeel took his bag and got out of the car. He closed the door behind him. Then he watched as Azuma and Zancrow drove off.

"Damn." Gajeel sighed. "I hope I didn't fuck up our only lead."

* * *

><p>The home of Elfman and Evergreen Strauss was lively with the sounds of celebrating. I mean it's not everyday you get to put away one of the biggest drug pushers in Fiore. True to his word, Laxus was there, along with his grandfather. There was laughing and smiles.<p>

Laxus raised a glass of beer. "Here's to crushing Titan Nose." He toasted.

Makarov, Laxus, Elfman and Evergreen lifted their glasses.

"How's the case going, Mrs. Strauss?" Makarov asked.

"Justine and I have been prepping our case ever since arraignment." Evergreen replied. "We've been pouring over every detail of your investigation making sure that everything is on the up and up. It looks very good so far but we're up against Minerva who's gonna try to discount everything."

The captain of the Task Force sighed. Knowing that Minerva was taking on Bora's case wasn't a happy thought. As someone who takes the adversarial nature of law very seriously, she is a constant thorn in the side of the Task Force. All of the evidence in Fiore will mean nothing when her silver tongue starts moving. Thankfully Freed Justine will be taking on the case. He's the only one who has ever been able to beat Minerva in the courtroom.

"I have the utmost faith in you." Makarov said to Evergreen.

"Thank you, sir." Evergreen nodded humbly. "It's my first case since my promotion. I intend to see it to the end."

"Speaking of promotion, Elfman, have you thought about taking the precinct chief's exam?" Makarov asked.

Elfman smiled humbly. "I thank you for the vote of confidence, captain, but I do not believe I'm ready for that." He said. "Besides, I do enjoy being Detective Sergeant."

"I thought that a man is always trying to improve himself?" Laxus joked.

Elfman laughed.

"Just take the test." Laxus said. "You don't have to accept if you don't want to but at least your options will be open."

"Who's hungry for dessert?" A cheerful voice asked.

They all turned to the direction of the voice. A woman with long white hair and a sunny disposition came into the dining room with freshly baked pie.

"There's always room for pie, sis." Elfman laughed mirthfully. "Just place it on the table."

"The food was excellent as always, Mira." Laxus praised.

"Why thanks." Mira smiled.

"What my grandson said." Makarov said. "I can't understand why a woman like you is still single. Why if I was a little bit younger..."

Mira laughed playfully. "You're such a flirt, captain."

"You'd have to be fifty years younger to even stand a chance." Laxus snorted.

"It's not like you're doing anything to get me great-grandchildren." Makarov retorted.

"Shut up, old man." The blond lieutenant snapped back.

"Well, let me clear the table and I'll set down the pie." Mira smiled, ignoring the playful bickering.

"I'll help you." Laxus offered.

"Oh I couldn't ask you to do it." Mira smiled.

"Wasn't asking." The blond answered as he grabbed the plates for his friend's sister. When everything was collected, Laxus headed to the kitchen with Mira following behind.

Mirajane Strauss

Laxus had known Elfman's older sister for over a decade ever since they became friends at the Academy. The oldest of the Strauss siblings by about three years, she had taken the role of caregiver after their parents passed away in a home fire. Taking a modeling job, she was able to support her younger siblings. Soon after, with the money she made modeling, she was able buy a bar and grill. She called it Fairy Tail and it was a more family friendly establishment than Bora's.

"Thanks Laxus." Mira said.

The blond lieutenant nodded. There was an awkward silence between the two as Mira turned on the faucet and started doing the dishes.

"I know why you are having this dinner, Mira." Laxus said with a bit of hesitation. He knew that he was walking on unsteady territory. "You want to be distracted because that day is approaching."

The sponge in Mira's hand stopped. The white haired woman let out a deep sigh. "You would think that after almost fifteen years, the pain would go away." Her voice was so soft, if it wasn't for Laxus's great hearing, he probably would not have heard her.

Of course he knew what Mira was talking about. After all, the death of any family member is tough. The death of your little sister would be even tougher. Laxus had never met Lisanna Strauss but he did know that her death had an impact on the family. From what he knew about the siblings, she was the heart of the family. But that heart was ripped from them by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting. One tiny piece of metal destroys everything.

It was this event that made Elfman join the Academy to become an enforcer. He wanted to bring justice to his sister's killers. It's what drove the guy and Laxus respected this. A man who turns personal tragedy into something positive is an exceptional person.

Mira changed as well. Apparently, she was some sort of demon back in the day. (Laxus couldn't see it.) But she became more affable and took a supporting role in Fiore. A portion of the money that she made at Fairy Tail went to mentoring at-risk youths. She also gave job training to people who had problems with drugs. It was her way of honoring her sister's legacy.

"Some days are tougher than others." Mira admitted. "Her birthdays, holidays, the day she died. But thankfully, I have a great support system." She smiled at Laxus. And it was true. If it weren't for her brother sharing her pain, the people at her job support her financially and the enforcers who constantly updated her on the progress of Lisanna's investigation, Mira probably wouldn't be around today.

"I know I ask this of you every time you come over." Mira said. "I also know that his job is dangerous and there is a chance he can be hurt. And I know that he wouldn't want to benched just to be safe. But, as much as possible, please watch Elfman's back. If I lost him, I don't know what I would do."

"You don't have to worry, Mira." Laxus sighed. "He's been my partner for more than ten years. I won't let anything happen to him."

* * *

><p>Gajeel slunk back to his new apartment with a bag full of cash and nothing to show for it. This wasn't the first time that he suffered a setback in an infiltration mission but it did irritate him. If he had gotten in...<p>

That Azuma guy... He was a dangerous one. Perhaps it was a good thing that he didn't get in right away. A guy that smart would probably figure out his motives immediately.

Gajeel trudged up the stairs to his apartment on the fourth floor. As he put his hand on the knob, he could hear laughter coming from the other side of the door.

"So you started doing the underpants dance in front of everyone?" Gildarts roared in laughter.

"That is why I don't drink absinthe anymore." Another voice answered.

Gajeel quirked an eyebrow as he opened the door. He saw Gildarts sitting with a blond guy he didn't recognize.

"Ahh, Gajeel." His handler motioned him to come over. "I want you to meet Hibiki, head of Computer Forensics."

The Head of Computer Forensics stood up and extended his hand towards Gajeel. The undercover officer just snorted. Hibiki awkwardly withdrew the greeting.

"Hello, Mr. Redfox. I am Hibiki Laytis." The blond man greeted. "The lieutenant has authorized my knowledge of you. I've been instructed to give you whatever help I can give, from cameras, mics, and phones to data mining and background. Pretty much anything technical you'll need. I'll also be processing whatever you collect and passing it onto the captain and the lieutenant."

"Whatever." Gajeel scoffed.

Hibiki was taken aback by the undercover officer's attitude.

"Anyways, I'm to give you everything you'll need to infiltrate Black Hunter and stop the flow of Magic Bullet." The blond said. "I've equipped your pad with hidden cameras, wireless mics and a computer that can connect to the lieutenant. I have left instructions with Gildarts."

"Are you done?" Gajeel snapped. He really didn't want to deal with this guy right now, especially after his failure with Black Hunter.

"Ooh-kay." Hibiki said hesitantly. He didn't know what to say to this. Gildarts did say that this guy might be difficult. "Any questions?"

"You can leave now." The long haired man said.

Stunned, Hibiki slowly walked out of the apartment, a bit confused at what just happened.

"You're taking out your anger on the wrong person, Gajeel." Gildarts said

"What makes you say that?" Gajeel asked with an edge to it.

"You're carrying a duffel bag full of money and you're snapping at someone who doesn't deserve it." The older man answered back. "But don't worry. I anticipated this and already have a plan."

"You knew I was going to fail?" The long haired man asked.

"The Black Hunter gang is notoriously difficult to infiltrate." Gildarts said. "I would have really been impressed if you had gotten in on the first try but knowing how they operate, more likely, there was nothing you could have done to change their mind."

Gajeel was silent for a bit. It probably was too ridiculous to expect to get in so quickly after having left Titan Nose.

"I know your type, Gajeel." His handler said to him. "No family, no friends. Natural thrill seeker and adrenaline junkie. Loyalty to the captain. Living and dying mean the same to you but you are seeking to make your mark. You are just like I was thirty years ago."

"Thirty years ago?" Gajeel snickered. "More like a hundred."

"Brat." Gildarts grinned.

Though Gajeel teased Gildarts, he knew that he was talking to a living legend. This man, Gildarts Clive, was someone he looked up to as an undercover agent.

Back in the 1980s, when Makarov Dreyar first took control of the Task Force, they were fighting off the influence of the Columbian Cartel. The cartel wanted control of Fiore to push into Europe. It was a terrible time. There were gang wars in the streets. Innocent people were getting killed. Something needed to be done.

Makarov turned to Gildarts Clive, the best man in the Gang Infiltration Unit. The enforcer had already made a name for himself there. His first mission, breaking up a Chinese opium ring. He did it single-handedly, arresting or killing over fifty members of the gang. It was like he was born to stop drug dealers from poisoning Fiore. Who better to take on the Columbians?

Gildarts was able to find the weakest niche of the cartel and made his bones climbing the ranks. However, it soon became obvious to the man that these dealers were getting help from people with juice. But he needed more than a hunch. Gildarts needed proof. And he got it in a big way.

Gildarts and several members of the cartel were arrested on a buy and bust. It was normal for members of the GIU to get caught. What he wasn't expecting was the conversation that followed. One of the enforcers told Gildarts that, for a small fee, he'd let them go. In that moment, the undercover agent realized that crooked enforcers were protecting the cartel. Armed with this knowledge, he took his findings to Makarov. They did a thorough investigation of everyone within the Task Force. Imagine their surprise when they learned that it all led to the Lieutenant of FCTF, Ivan Dreyar, Makarov's son. Gildarts took everything he learned to the Captain. When they finally had enough to for a conviction, Makarov let loose the dogs of law enforcement.

It was the trial of the century. Captain Makarov Dreyar's son, the lieutenant of the Task Force, was being tried for multiple counts from public corruption and facilitation to murder in the first degree. It took over seven months and three extra months of deliberation but they convinced Ivan. Today, he's currently serving a 712 year sentence at the maximum security facility in Atherion.

Gildarts Clive's career as an undercover lasted for 37 years. He was the most effective agent in the Task Force in his time. When Makarov took him in to become an undercover, Gajeel looked to Gildart's example of what an agent could be and emulated him. Now he was getting the chance to work with the legend.

"So what's the new plan?" Gajeel asked.

Gildarts threw Gajeel a file. The long haired man perused it. It was some creepy old man with a creepy smile.

"Jose Porla, biochemist." Gildarts explained. "Born in the U.S., degree in biochemistry from John Hopkins. Was tried in 2010 for stalking, reduced to harassment. Currently a professor at Magnolia U teaching biochemistry and running a research lab in the neighboring town of Alpinia."

"Why do I need to know about this guy?" Gajeel asked.

"Because the Task Force has reason to believe that he has suspected drug ties." The older man explained. "We think that he's making drugs for a gang affiliated with Black Hunter."

"How do you know?" Gajeel queried.

"It's circumstantial but three of the people who worked under him were arrested for drug possession." Gildarts said.

"So my job is..." The long haired man pressed.

"Your plan of attack is to go after Porla, do your thing and get in." Gildarts told him. "He has to be running a drug lab somewhere. As I'm sure you're aware, all labs with level 3 type chemicals must have certification from the Ministry of Health and Human Services before they can have access to them. We know he has it. So your job is to get into that lab."

"That's it?" Gajeel was confused. This was the way to get into Black Hunter?

Gildarts anticipated what Gajeel was actually saying. "You won't be getting into Black Hunter like this. They are too big. They'll vaporize you if you go at them straight. However, their weakness is the fact that they incorporate smaller gangs into themselves. You infiltrate one, work your way up, get into Black Hunter, collect every last bit of information and then, take them down."

Gajeel nodded. It was actually a very solid plan. "So what's my in?"

The older man grinned. It was a very unwholesome grin. It gave Gajeel the creeps. Gildarts pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to the long haired man. Inside, there was a letter with the header of Magnolia University. There was an ID card with his name and picture on it.

"The fuck?" Gajeel couldn't believe it.

"Congratulations, Gajeel." Gildarts laughed. "You've just been accepted to Magnolia U. You're going to college, kid."

* * *

><p>Minerva and a team of paralegals were pouring over the evidence in her office from the Bora's case. It wasn't going well. Pretty much every piece of evidence was irrefutable, even for her.<p>

The worst part of it was the video. First off, it was in color which left no doubt that it was Bora. Second, there was audio, which meant that it was his voice on those tapes. And third, he was seen and heard making drug deals with convicted dealers. This was an open and shut case. It was so irritating. There was not much she could argue.

Minerva pushed a button on her intercom. "Rufus, get Bora's ass in here." She commanded.

A moment later, Bora sauntered into the office, shutting the door behind him.

"You're a fucking retard." She snapped at him.

"Hello to you too, woman." Bora answered back.

"You're basically done." Minerva said without a hint of pity. "Why the fuck would you have security tapes when you're trying to run a drug ring?"

"It's for insurance purposes." The club owner said. "Without it, I couldn't get coverage in the event of theft or fire or something."

"Yeah, well thanks to this, you've got no case." She told him.

"You're my lawyer. You have to have another..." Bora started to say before Minerva cut him off.

"You don't get it, you fucking dumbass." She snapped. "If it were just a black and white grainy video, I can argue that you are talking about your club. I can argue entrapment. But this is a color video with audio. It has you talking about making drug deals unprompted. And I can't suppress this because you were the one who installed it."

"What about the search?" Bora asked. "Wasn't it illegal?"

"Here's two words for you, fucktard: inevitable discovery." She snarled. "The only play I've got is trying to find the undercover agent and discredit him. I could lose that motion and when that happens, you're done."

Minerva continued on but Bora wasn't listening. He was stuck on the fact that there was audio. As much as this woman might believe it, he wasn't an idiot. There was no way that he would endanger his business.

"What did you say about audio?" Bora asked.

"The video had audio attached to it." The lawyer explained to her client. "I can't refute that. You basically shot yourself in the foot."

"But I didn't have audio installed." The club owner shot back. "I had video put in but not audio."

That made Minerva pause. If audio was put in, there had to have been a warrant put in. If not, that's wiretapping which could give her cause to suppress the video. Suppress the video, it becomes Bora's word against his gang and for this lawyer, it'd be a turkey shoot. She turned to her paralegals.

"Anyone find a warrant for a wipetap?" She yelled at them. There was a silence, a good sign.

"Who installed the video?" Minerva asked.

"Some guy from Creative Solutions." Bora said.

A slow smile crept along Minerva's face. "Someone get me an invoice for Creative Solutions."

"I found one, madam." One of the paralegals cried out with a paper in his hand. He handed it to Minerva.

Minerva scanned the paper and found what she was looking for, the name of the person who installed the video. A small smile crept along her face. She was looking at her next target.

"I want everything there is on this guy." She ordered. "Where he was born, what he does. I want to know every dirty secret he's got."

The paralegal nodded and got to work. Meanwhile, Minerva looked at the invoice and smirked. "The Sabertooth is ready for the hunt, guy." She said to the paper. "I hope you are ready to be devoured, Natsu Dragneel."

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of the chapter.<strong>

**No Levy in this chapter. Sorry. But don't worry. She's going to have role in the next chapter. And we are getting closer to the chapter where she is going to meet up with Gajeel.**

**First of all, I want to explain about Lisanna. Don't take her death in my story to mean that I hate her. I honestly have no opinion of her in the manga. She isn't all that important to me. The reason I had her die is to give Elfman a reason to drive himself to join the Task Force. He's going to be an important character to the story. So Lisanna is his driving force.  
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**Second, you aren't going to see the usual friendships in the story that you'd normally see in a FT fic. We've already got Laxus and Elfman being buddy cops. But you aren't going to see a Natsu and Gray rivalry or anything like that. It's because I want to put together characters that normally aren't around each other and see where they go.  
><strong>

**Third, as you can probably guess, I'm not a doctor. So I have no idea how these drugs would interact with each other. I wanted to create a new drug instead of using an existing drug to create an air of mystique around Der Freishutz. If anyone with knowledge of medicine would like to correct me, please tell me. I want to know.**

**Anyways, loved it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.  
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**Until next time,  
><strong>

**A. Angel**


	5. The Convergence

**Hello boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.**

**Four updates in a month? That's gotta be a record for me.**

**I'm glad that you guys liked the chapter. This is the last chapter of introduction before we start getting into the nitty-gritty, where the characters converge on each other.**

**Allow me to answer some reviews first.**

**UnitedOsprey, no I did not go 22 Jump Street. First off, I refuse to acknowlege that Jump Street as legitimate. Only the original show is. In any case, the college is necessary because Gajeel needs to step in Levy's world before Levy can step in Gajeel's.**

**Hyper, I am a man who loves exposition. I feel that to understand a character, a world or a key object, you need to explore it in depth. But I also understand that I want to leave some mystery. So, as much as possible, I try to give bite size chunks. With regards of my history of Fiore and Magic Bullet, I felt like I wanted to get it out of the way so that I'm not explaining it in the middle of the story, thus ruining the pacing. So I understand what you're getting at.**

**SylvanMoon, I haven't decided if I want to have Miraxus in this story. With regards to them, I have two versions: one where they get together and one where they don't. For those who haven't been following me, I have written a Miraxus smut fic so if anyone wants a fix, you can get it in Selfishness. As for this story, if Miraxus is something that others would like to see, I don't have a problem. If not, well we'll see.**

**Now if you'll indulge me, there's one other thing that I'd like to say. I know that many of you love my stories. For that I am grateful, more than you can imagine. It makes me happy that someone receives joy from what I do. Writing is something I do to relax. After a long day at work, this, along with my family, friends, TV, and video games, helps me unwind. If I didn't have to worry about bills and responsibilities, I would totally write faster and you'd see quicker updates. Sadly, I do have bills and responsibilities. If I don't update quickly, it doesn't mean that I've forgotten to or that I'm not writing. It just means that I'm taking care of more important things. So don't expect me to keep to a fixed schedule. And as much as I like writing, I love my family and friends more. If writing becomes an impediment to spending time with them, then I'll drop writing altogether. All I ask is that you give me time and I promise that I'll get you another chapter when I get around to it. **

**I've been asked why am I not a published writer. My answer to that is that it wouldn't be fun if I was. I write to relax. If it were a job, I'd lose all interest in it. If I finish this, maybe I might want to publish this. But that day is long and far away. I'll focus on the now instead of being the next fanfic writer to become an author like that 50 Shades of Gray woman.**

**I really do appreciate the feedback and support. You guys are the best.**

**Rant done. Now to the chapter. I hope you enjoy. Or don't. It is your right.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: The Convergence<strong>

Darkness. There was darkness all around him. The darkness was the first thing he noticed. There was something over his eyes, preventing him from seeing the light.

The next thing he noticed was that he was sitting down in a chair. His hands were tied behind said chair. So were his ankles. In this situation, the man did the most logical thing. He struggled against his restraints.

He felt a whoosh of air around his head and the darkness turned to dim light. Right in front of him were two guys. One had blond hair, light skin and wild eyes. The other had dark hair, dark skin and calm eyes. The man didn't know that he was in the presence of the Black Hunters, Zancrow and Azuma.

"Wakey, wakey. Eggs and Bakey." The blond cackled.

"Mr. Bradford Deitman, member of Titan Nose, also known as Diesel." The dark haired guy said in a calm voice.

Diesel started to hyperventilate. He had been in the business long enough to know when he was in a tight spot and if this doesn't qualify as one, he didn't know what would.

"You lead a double life, Mr. Deitman." Azuma told him. "By day, you own two dozen storage businesses all over Fiore. By night, you are the crux of Bora Eminentia's drug ring, holding his drugs until others in your gang need them."

"You're the guy who knows where the drugs are." Zancrow smirked. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. It glinted in the dim lighting. "We want them."

"I never heard of Bora." Diesel tried to say in a calm voice but it betrayed him.

"Mr. Deitman, we don't like liars." Azuma told him.

Zancrow grabbed Diesel by his neck. He took the knife and sliced open his shirt. The tip of the blond's knife dug into his victim's chest ever so slightly. Diesel hissed in pain. "You know how long it took to get to you?" The blond was now deadly serious. "Trust me. We know you work for him."

"They'll kill me." Diesel told the man with the knife.

"You don't have to worry about that." Azuma told Diesel.

Zancrow walked behind Diesel's chair. Azuma walked into the darkness. Diesel could hear something scraping against the floor. The dark skin man came back into the light, pushing a box of some sort into his view. Then he felt his chair tip forward towards the box. Azuma opened it. What Diesel saw horrified him.

"Holy shit." He yelled.

Heads. Human heads, kept in ice. He recognized two of them as members of Titan Nose.

"See, you'll be fine." Zancrow cackled.

"You are storing massive amounts of ecstasy for Bora, Mr. Deitman." Azuma said calmly. "We want it. We are going to get it either way. The question you have to ask yourself is 'Is this going to be quick or slow?'."

Zancrow put the blade of his knife against Diesel's cheek and sliced him.

"Okay, okay." Diesel screamed. "It's in Clover. 717 Carmichael, Unit 245. Now please let me go."

There was quiet for a space. Zancrow dropped Diesel's chair. He undid the man's bindings.

"You're letting me go?" Diesel asked, a bit of relief in his eyes.

He got no answer from the two from Black Hunter. So he figured he was free to go. Diesel didn't need any more convincing. He walked away from the two psychos.

A whoosh cut through the silence. Diesel felt a sharp pain on his leg that made him collapse. He cried out in pain. When he looked at the leg where the pain originated, he saw Zancrow's knife sticking out of his leg. He turned to the blond who had a maniacal grin on his face.

"I didn't say you could leave." Zancrow's voice was low enough to note his seriousness.

Diesel could now see that Zancrow had a bunch of throwing knives in between his fingers. That's when he realized he was going to die.

"Azuma, you want a stab at this guy?" Zancrow asked.

"No, go ahead." The dark skin man said. "It is your birthday, after all. Just don't damage the head."

Diesel watched as death approached him with a sick grin on his face and gleaming knives in his hand.

* * *

><p>Sterling General Hospital. One of the best hospitals in Fiore and certainly the best hospital in Magnolia. They are known for having great health care professionals, both physical and mental. The doctors have a great bedside manner. You couldn't ask for a better hospital.<p>

This is the hospital where Natsu Dragneel spent every other Sunday. He is currently holding two trays full of food. He knew where he was going like the back of his hand. He saw the numbers 423 on a room door. With his hands full, he knocked on the door with his head.

"Open the door, old man." Natsu yelled. "My hands are full."

A moment passed. The door opened.

"Bout time, kid."

Igneel Dragneel. With his fiery red hair and booming voice, he stands out even more so than his son. If you were to put him next to Natsu, you could tell that they were father and son. They had the same rambunctious personality and infectious smile. However, if you watched them interact with each other, you'd think that they were brothers.

Igneel was a construction worker, working long hours to support himself and raise his son as a single father. He was very affable. Many people liked working with the man because of his cheerful attitude and dedication to the job. It was no surprise that he eventually was promoted to building supervisor, overseeing projects for his company.

In the middle of Natsu's freshman year of college, Igneel started feeling tremors in his hand. He attributed them to drinking or stress or a thousand other things besides a degenerative disorder. Because of this, he didn't receive medical attention until one day, he was driving his car. The red head lost control of his car and crashed into a building. After several days of observation and recovery, he learned that he had Parkinson's Disease.

Igneel felt like he was in another crash after hearing the diagnosis. Parkinson's, it was an old man's illness. He was hardly old so how could he be suffering from it? The doctors had explained that while most people who got PD were old, a growing number of the population were getting it younger.

Parkinson's meant that he couldn't be active in the job he loved so much even with medication because of the risk to himself and others. He was relegated to the main office, handling paperwork. And because of his transfer, Igneel lost much of the insurance coverage that his job provided for construction workers. The job would cover half of the cost of his medical bills which forced Igneel to make a choice: his health or Natsu's future. Thankfully, things worked out in the end. Natsu got a job at Creative Solutions and his insurance could cover both his school expenses and his father's medical bills. Now Igneel spends two Sundays a month in the hospital for observation.

"About time?" Natsu yelled. "I was only gone five minutes."

Igneel grabbed one of the trays and sat down on his hospital bed. Natsu took the other tray and sat on the adjacent chair. Then the two of them began inhaling the food in front of them. (Another thing you need to know about the Dragneel men is that they are known for their atrocious table manners.)

"Sho, hos sool." Igneel asked with his mouth full.

"S'fine." Natsu answered with his own mouth full just like his father did. "Casses are touh ut I'm handing it."

The older Dragneel swallowed his food with a loud gulp. "Glad to hear it." Igneel laughed. "I can't even imagine you as a doctor. I'd think you be the kind of doctor that wouldn't a patient's head from their ass."

Natsu swallowed his food. Then he glowered at his father. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." He said dryly. "Three years busting my ass in med school and my own dad doesn't think I can make it as a doctor."

"Stop acting like a baby." Igneel teased, punching his son on the arm. And it wasn't a light tap. It was a full-on punch.

Natsu responded by punching back, hitting his father in the stomach.

"You think you can take on your old man?" Igneel laughed.

"I ain't backing down." Natsu roared.

The two began to wrestle with each other, again another trait of the Dragneel men. It was a contest of strength and will. The two tried to overpower each other. Natsu had trained to be a soccer star and even though he had given up his scholarship to become a doctor, he had still kept up his training. Igneel, though he had no training in the classical sense, had been a construction worker. His strength had been forged by hard work and grit. As such, he was able to overpower his son.

Igneel took his son and put him in a chokehold. He then proceeded to give Natsu a noogie. The pink haired young man flailed in the restrain

"Come on, kid." Igneel laughed. "You're not ready to take on your old man."

"Get off me." Natsu struggled.

"Try and get me off." The older man continued tormenting his son. "And since I have you, I've got something more important to ask you than your studies. Lucy, what's going on with you and her?"

"None of your...ow...business." The younger Dragneel snapped at his father, receiving a knock on the head from Igneel.

"Are you treating her right?" Igneel interrogated his son. "Listening when she talks to you, taking her out, making sure her needs are met?"

"Of course I am." Natsu cried out in pain as his father twisted his ear. "Ow, stop it. I'm calling child services."

"And what about her sexual needs?" The older Dragneel asked. "The Dragneel men are known for their stamina, making our lovers come multiple times in one night. You're having sex with Lucy, right? Is she satisfied?"

"Oh my god!" Natsu yelled. "We are not having this conversation."

Igneel put his fingers in Natsu's nose and pulled it from inside, causing the younger man pain. "Yes we are." The older Dragneel growled. "Your future, and mine, depend on you satisfying your woman. God knows that she's out of your league so you better propose quickly and get her pregnant before she wises up and finds someone else. I want grandkids before I get old enough to enjoy them."

"Shut up!"

There was a knock on the room door. Igneel and Natsu looked in that direction. At the door was a man in a sharp business suit, looking dumbfounded at them. Igneel realized that they must look like a sight. The two disentangled from each other.

"I'm sorry." The man said with a nervous tic in his voice. "I can come back later."

"No, that's fine." Igneel replied as if the guy had not seen what they were doing seconds ago. "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Natsu Dragneel." The guy said. "They said that he's here."

Natsu stepped forward. "That's me." He said. "What do you need?"

The man handed Natsu a folded blue paper. The younger Dragneel took it and read the contents.

"I'm to appear in court on Tuesday at 9?" Natsu said, questioning the paper.

"To testify in the Bora Eminentia case." The man told him.

"About what?" Natsu asked. "I don't even know the guy."

"It's all in the paper." With that, the man left the two Dragneels to read the summons given to Natsu.''

* * *

><p>"What do you mean 'I'm going to college?'" Gajeel yelled.<p>

Gildarts couldn't help but laugh at Gajeel's reaction. It was adorable. His hair bristled like a cat drenched in water, his red eyes flared like a pilot light and he stamped his foot like a child who didn't get his way.

"You should be happy." The older man guffawed. "Makarov and I are giving you the chance to give you an education. You'll get the full college experience, especially beautiful coeds." A perverted smirk crossed his face. "God, to be a few years younger."

Gajeel glowered at the old man. "Why do I have to be a student?" The long haired man snapped. "Can't I get in easier if I'm a janitor or something?"

"Why would Porla open up his drug lab to a janitor?" Gildarts retorted. "Trust me. College student is the best play. You've worked in a meth lab so you know your way around chemicals. And you get to enjoy being a normal person for once in your life."

"And why didn't you give me an alias for this job?" Gajeel scoffed.

"We did." The old man chuckled. "Gajeel Redfox is the alias."

Gajeel's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, I know." Gildarts told him. "I read the file. You were given that name by the captain."

Gajeel was silent. So he knew.

"Listen, student is the best play here." Gajeel's handler explained. "College is the perfect time for kids with zero life experience to make very bad decisions. People like Porla prey on students with promises of fast money. They figure everyone is doing something wrong so why not them. Plus the money that they get is probably more than what they have ever seen in their lives. Not to mention the fact that college students are less likely to get law enforcement involved when it's about drugs. It's the perfect role for an undercover, especially someone who is as young as you."

Gajeel grimaced. Gildarts has been making many good points. And had his handler suggested put him in any other job, the long haired man would have agreed. But being a student just felt stupid to him.

"Of course, you'd have to keep up appearances." Gildarts continued. "You know, be an average student, do homework, and stuff all the while trying to get the attention of a man who cooks meth for the most ruthless cartel in the world. Simple, right?"

"Yeah, whatever." The undercover scoffed.

"Alright." The older man said. "Now that we've got that settled. Let's go over your schedule. You'll have Chemistry with Porla, Criminology with Professor Regulus, Fiorean History with Professor Milkovich, Statistics with Professor Seam, Film Theory with Professor Suzuki, and Economics with Professor Aleus. Now the goal here is to hit the sweet spot with your grades. Aim for a C. If you score higher, you won't attract Porla's attention. Score lower and you'll be too much of a risk to take on."

Gajeel nodded.

"In the meanwhile, Laxus will be looking at gangs with ties to Porla." Gildarts told him. "When he does, you can infiltrate, work your way up and hopefully get into Black Hunter that way."

"Works for me." Gajeel said.

"Good. Now follow me." Gildarts nodded in the direction of the door. "There's one other person I must introduce you to."

Gajeel gave Gildarts a curious look.

The two walked out of the apartment and into the elevator bank. Gildarts pressed the call button. The doors opened and they walked inside. Gajeel watched as his handler pressed the number 3 button. The elevator went down to the third floor. It looked like an office building.

Gildarts continued leading Gajeel into one of the offices. Gajeel glanced around the office. There was a chaise lounge chair, two leather chairs, and a desk. He saw degrees on the wall along with pictures of various men and women. There were also bookshelves filled with tons of books that the undercover officer would have to spend the rest of his life to read.

"Here we are." Gildarts exclaimed.

"Where is here?" Gajeel asked.

"Listen, you've been an undercover for seven years." The handler told him. "In that time, you've seen so much. Stuff like that can hurt you. It's not good to bottle that up. You need a release. This person can help you release your feelings in a safe, clinical environment."

"The fuck?" Gajeel snapped. "What are you talking about?"

"All undercovers are required to go after every mission." Gildarts continued. "You are long overdue."

Gajeel ignored his handler and snooped around the desk. A framed picture caught his eye. It was a picture of a man with spiky, black hair and a woman with long blue hair. From the way that the picture was situated, the man was holding the camera in one hand while wrapping his other arm around the woman. He was smirking while the woman was kissing his cheek. The long haired man snorted and put the picture down.

"Are you done sifting through my desk, Mr. Redfox?" A woman's voice asked.

Gajeel's neck snapped in the direction of the voice. The voice belonged to the woman in the picture. There was a smile on her face.

"Hello, Mr. Redfox." The woman said in a soothing voice. "My name is Dr. Juvia Lockser and I'm going to be your psychiatrist."

* * *

><p>Levy and Lucy were in their kitchen preparing dinner for them and Natsu. It was nothing fancy, just simple and lots of it. When the two girls cooked for the first time, it was a disaster. They nearly burned down their shared house. After taking a couple of cooking courses, they could make something that somewhat resembled food. They used Natsu as a guinea pig until they got to the point where they could make something edible.<p>

"Can you pass me the seasoning, Levy?" Lucy asked.

Levy handed a bottle of seasoning to her friend.

"Don't pour too much." Levy laughed. "You don't want a repeat of that one time where there was more seasoning than meat."

"Be useful and make a salad." Lucy said, sticking out her tongue.

Levy chuckled. She grabbed the lettuce and started washing it. The two of them continued cooking in silence.

"You know, this is a lot for just the three of us." The blue haired woman said.

"Have you forgotten that Natsu is a human food disposal?" Lucy laughed. "That guy can eat an entire feast by himself. I still have no idea where it all goes."

"I know a bunch of it goes in the bedroom." Levy says in a snarky manner.

Lucy dropped the stirring spoon, a full blush on her face.

"How did you..." Lucy whispered.

"I can hear the headboard banging against the wall." Levy told her. "I have to put my headphones on blast so I don't have to hear you moan."

Lucy turned stiff as a board. Knowing that her friend could hear her in intimate moments wasn't a very happy thought.

"Please, if you two are going to have sex, can you do it at his place?" Levy mock-begged.

"Maybe you need to get yourself a boyfriend." Lucy teased. "How about this weekend you and me go to the club in our skimpiest outfits and get you a man?"

"Yeah, that'll be a disaster." Levy snorted ruefully. "The last time that happened, all of the guys kept buying you drinks and ignoring me."

"You're exaggerating." The blonde sighed.

"It's because of those giant melons of yours." Levy grimaced. She put her hands in front of her, mimicking the difference between her. "As soon as guys see those, I become invisible."

As much as Levy loved Lucy as a friend, she hated the physical difference between them. Lucy had the body of a model while Levy was built like the kid sister. Levy was always the girl a guy has as a friend while Lucy was the girl a guy desires. Don't take this to mean that the hacker begrudged her friend for her looks. But there are days where she wished that she could, at the very least, grow a cup size or two so that the gap in their physical appearance wasn't that great. Thankfully, Lucy was more than her looks. She was kind, caring, smart and just as manipulative as Levy could be. It was those qualities that solidified their friendship, and, soon after, their partnership.

"Have you ever thought about online dating?" Lucy asked. "That would be perfect for someone like you."

"Yeah, sure. I can totally see my profile." Levy snorted. "Single internationally wanted criminal female desperately seeking man. Likes long walks on the beach and breaking the law on a daily basis."

Lucy laughed at Levy's joke.

"I do appreciate the concern." Levy sighed. "But I'm not really looking for a guy right now. I feel that when it is time, love will come my way."

The sound of an alarm echoed in the kitchen.

"What's that?" Lucy asked.

"It's my tablet." Levy answered. She put down the lettuce and ran to her tablet. "Something's wrong."

"Check it later." Lucy mock-whined. "Finish making dinner."

Levy ignored her friend and checked her tablet. Lucy watched as her friend frowned. The hacker started typing furiously.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, her hands stopping in mid cut.

Levy was silent for a while as her fingers danced across the tablet. Then... "Someone ran a background check on Natsu." She announced.

Lucy dropped the food that she was making and ran over to her hacker friend.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked.

"Someone ran an extensive background check on Natsu." Levy repeated. "Personal, financial, criminal. They are trying to hack his Facebook page, read his Twitter account, look at every website he's ever visited. Whoever is doing this is trying to find out everything about Natsu."

"Can you tell who's doing this?" The blonde begged.

Levy was silent as she tracked down the IP address that linked to the ISP account.

"It looks like it's coming from the law offices of Orland and Associates." Levy answered.

"A law office?" Lucy asked. "Why would a lawyer want to know about Natsu?"

The two were interrupted by the doorbell.

"I'll go get that." Lucy said. "You try and find out what's going on."

Levy went to work on her tablet while Lucy answered the door. Who could have guessed that the person at the door was the one they were talking about.

"Hey Luce." Natsu smiled.

It took Lucy a split second to compose herself. But then she kissed Natsu's cheek like she would have any other time. "Come in, Natsu." She smiled. "Dinner is almost ready. Me and Levy are almost finished."

Natsu didn't need any other invitation. He walked into Lucy's house.

"Whatever you're making smells delicious." Natsu said with his nose sniffing the food's aroma.

"Of course you'd appreciate it." Lucy laughed. "You're always hungry."

"But right now, I'm hungry for you." Natsu whispered in a husky voice. He rubbed Lucy's cheek and grabbed it gently.

"Hey." Levy yelled from inside the kitchen. "Please don't make out in the open."

Natsu and Lucy jumped away from each other like they were burning hot.

"Hey Levy." Natsu yelled back.

"So how's your father?" Lucy asked.

"The same." The pink haired man replied. "He hates staying for observation. He just wants to get the meds and leave."

"You guys didn't get into another fight, did you?" The blonde asked.

Natsu smiled. "Just a little one." He admitted. "He got me into submission and tried to make me tell him about our relationship. But one day, I'm going to beat him and make him tell me stuff."

Lucy shook her head but she couldn't keep the smirk off of her face. Natsu may have an unorthodox relationship with his father but even she could see the love between them. It was quite different from her relationship with her own father.

"Oh, and there was something weird that happened today." Natsu added as an afterthought. He dug in his pocket and found the paper he was given today. He gave it to Lucy "Apparently, I need to go to court in two days."

Lucy read the summons. Worry crept along her face.

"You have to testify in the Bora Eminentia case?" Lucy asked in a higher voice than normal so Levy could hear. "The drug dealing club owner?"

"Uh-huh." Natsu agreed. "I don't know what about but it can't be anything bad, right?"

"You should call the company." Lucy said firmly. "Ask for legal counsel."

"Is that really necessary?" Natsu asked.

"Better safe than sorry." The blonde answered. "Now go wash up. Dinner should be ready in a minute."

Natsu gave Lucy a peck on the lips and went upstairs. The blonde waited until Natsu was up the stairs. Then she ran into the kitchen where Levy was tapping away on her tablet.

"I heard." Levy said in a whisper. "Bora is being represented by a woman named Minerva Orland. She's got a reputation for defending criminals with money and going after witnesses."

"What's the subpoena for?" Lucy asked.

"Four months ago, Natsu had set up video and audio for Bora's Magic Bullet club." Levy said. "Standard stuff really. He wasn't our target at the time. But the Task Force had been looking at him for longer. What the lawyer is trying to argue is that Natsu had illegally put surveillance equipment in under the orders of the Task Force."

"But he didn't." The blonde said emphatically.

"That's not the only thing we should be worried about." The hacker sighed.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"We took Bora's money before he was arrested." Levy explained. "Natsu's peripheral involvement may be the string that could unravel our whole operations. I've already erased everything from our hacking computers. Now I've got to make sure for all our sakes."

"Good. I don't want Natsu to get in trouble for something we did." Lucy nodded resolutely.

Levy's tablet started making more alarms sounds.

"Now what?" Lucy asked.

Levy tapped on her tablet. "They are running background checks on us now." She hissed.

"Make them stop." Lucy said, her heart hammering in her chest. They had never been close to being discovered up until this moment.

"That'll make them suspicious." Levy snapped. "We can't give them anything. We need to ride this out."

Lucy watched as her best friend scrubbed their digital footprints, all the while fearing that they could finally be caught.

* * *

><p>5:34 AM, Monday morning. The sun was slowly creeping over the horizon. An innocuous looking black car was driving down a quiet street. Its occupants, Lieutenant Laxus Dreyar and Detective Sergeant Elfman Strauss, were driving to a crime scene. There was a dour look on Laxus's face, as if he resented the fact that he was being forced to get up this early in the morning.<p>

"It's very rare that the Lieutenant is called out on a simple crime scene." Elfman sighed. "Perhaps we should get you some coffee. I know you're a grouch with your morning booster shot."

"Fuck off." The blond enforcer snorted in a good natured manner. "But you're right. It is unusual for me to go to a crime scene that isn't a drug bust. Must be important, at least it better be to wake my ass up this early in the godforsaken morning."

Their destination is Clover Harbor. It looked like a feeding frenzy with enforcer cars, news vans and onlookers who are trying to find out what was going on. Laxus stopped his car short of the media circus. He and Elfman got out of the car and walked up to the line of enforcers keeping the public away from the crime scene. They showed their badges and they were allowed entrance. An enforcer named Laharl met them.

"Lieutenant, Sergeant." He greeted.

"I'm a monster without coffee and breakfast." Laxus said. "I'm hardly awake so this better be good. What do we got?"

"It is a good thing you haven't." The bespectacled enforcer stated. "We've had some enforcers throwing up. Trust me, you've never seen anything like this. Please follow me."

Laharl led his superiors towards storage containers on the pier until Laxus and Elfman saw crime scene technicians working. They had arrived.

There was no preparing the Lieutenant and the Sergeant for what they were about to see. So when it came into their field of vision, needless to say they were speechless.

From far away, one could mistake it for a tree, an ugly tree with large bulbous fruits. The closer you got to it, the more features you could make out. And that's when you saw the grotesqueness of what you were looking at.

It was treelike in its form. However, its roots were comprised of human feet bones. The trunk was made of human femur bones. The branches were made of arm bones. The tips of the branches were hand bones. And hanging on those hand bones were severed human heads. It was a tree made of human remains.

Laxus and Elfman could only stare.

"Okay, I'm awake." Laxus stated.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of that chapter.<strong>

**The scene with Azuma and Zancrow made me wish that this was an interactive medium. I had a song all queued up for that scene, IAMX's I Come With Knives. I heard that on the premiere of "How to Get away with Murder" and have since become obsessed with it. So if you want, read that scene again with that song in the background.**

**I've been wanting to tap into the darker side of my mind with a lot of my fics. For those who've read my Fairy Tail Project fics, you've seen some of my darkness in "E is for Existence", "K is for Killer" and "P is for Promise". The human tree's inspiration came from the Hannibal TV series. There are a lot of beautifully macabre scenes. I feel so inspired to let loose my dark imagination. And it serves a purpose that you'll see in the next chapters.**

**Natsu is one of the harder characters to write. Many writers make him a cardboard cut out. And I have to admit that it's rather difficult to make him dynamic. That's why I had the scene with his father. Because he doesn't have Gray to clash against, it's going to be difficult. But I've got plans for him. Don't you worry.**

**In the next chapter, Gajeel and Levy will meet for the first time. So watch out for that.**

**Anyways. Loved it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Until next time,**

**A. Angel**


	6. Bare Bones

**Hello boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.**

**Welcome back to the next chapter. I want to thank you all for reading this. I've been glad of the feedback I've received.**

**I've read the feedback on the human tree. I'm glad it was received well, as strange as it may sound. I wanted something that pops at the reader. And you can bet that there is more where that came from.**

**Codus, Minar there is a reason why I cast Juvia as a psychiatrist but that's a long way off. It's a really good reason.**

**Shizuka, Natsu is going to be an important character in the story. I like developing him from the static version in the manga. I like my characters to have more depth, more dimension. And while Natsu and Lucy's relationship isn't going to be in the foreground, they are going to be important to Levy and how she eventually handles what is to come.**

**twinslayer, Hibiki is going to have a significant role in the story. I promise you'll be seeing more of him.**

**And to those who've read and reviewed, thank you.**

**Now, to the feature presentation**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five - Bare Bones<br>**

The clacking of keys greeted Minerva Orland as she walked into the office of her most prized employees. A woman like her can count the people she respects on one hand. Rufus Lohr is one of them. Don't let the long hair and stupid fedora fool you. He's the best at what he does. Computer technician is such an inadequate job description for him. He's more of a digital bounty hunter, finding the bits and bytes that people leave behind on social media and search sites. Basically, if you used the internet, he'll know what you've done in less than thirty minutes. On top of this, he also has a photographic memory, able to remember even the most minute detail of everything. Rufus is Minerva's go-to guy whenever she needs background on witnesses that she needs to destroy in court.

"Mistress, I have just finished compiling the data on Natsu Dragneel." Rufus said respectfully.

"Something I can use?" Minerva asked.

"He has no relatives in law enforcement spanning four generations." The technician said. "And until today, he wasn't connected to any Task Force operation."

"Has he been in trouble with the law before?" The lawyer pressed.

"He was arrested in 2012 at Magnolia when he was sixteen." Rufus explained. "By law, all juvenile offenders have their arrest records sealed by court order. However, I cross-referenced his arrest date with newspaper articles."

"Tell me it's something good, like assault." Minerva wondered.

"Unfortunately not. He was involved in the destruction of the town statue." He said with a distinctively petulant tone.

A misdemeanor, the lawyer grumbled. Natsu Dragneel probably got off with a fine, community service and an expunged record.

"Any unusual income? Drug habits? Something?" The lawyer was desperate for anything that could help her win her case.

"He had a full sports scholarship but he gave that up when he went to medical school." The long haired man told his boss. "He's an average student with the usual student loans. He makes a good living at Creative Solutions, lives within his means. He drinks occasionally, no drugs, no violence. He's about as clean as they come."

"And Creative Solutions?" Minerva prodded. "Are they involved with the Task Force?"

"Probably in the most ancillary of ways." Rufus explained. "They probably installed cameras and such. Beyond that, most likely not."

"Can you hack into the company?" The lawyer wondered aloud.

"I peeked in the door." Rufus answered. "Whoever designed their cyber security system is a pro. I would need the entire processing power of all the computers in this building and it would still take me weeks. Something like that will get us noticed immediately."

Minerva sighed. The one thing she hated in a case was a dead end. This kid has nothing dark in his past that she could use against him. And the company was untouchable. The lawyer was mad. This kid's testimony could sink Bora. And even though she didn't like her client, she hated losing even more.

An idea popped into Minerva's head. "What about his friends?" She asked. "Who are his closest friends and what secrets do they have?"

"I anticipated you asking that so I took the liberty of getting that information for you." Rufus explained. "I found his two closest friends. You will not believe who he's dating."

"Some hooker junkie serial killer, I hope." Minerva joked darkly.

"Lucy Heartfilia." Rufus answered.

The lawyer's eyebrows furrowed. Heartfilia. The name was familiar. Why was that? Then it hit her.

"Heartfilia? As in Jude Heartfilia, the Railway King?" She asked.

The technician nodded. "The one and the same." He told her. "They've been in a relationship for over two years."

"Going after her would be even worse than going after Creative Solutions." Minerva scoffed. "That girl probably has more lawyers on retainer than most businesses. I'd be fighting a war on two fronts if I attack her. She's off-limits."

Rufus said nothing but continued typing.

"And who's the other friend?" Minerva asked, hoping that she'd be more helpful than Natsu or Lucy have been.

"Levy McGarden." Rufus answered. "Straight A student, majoring in computer science. She's more interesting. There is no record of her prior to 2005 when she was twelve years old."

That piqued Minerva's interest. "Nothing you say?"

"No birth certificate, no ID card, no school records, no photos, nothing until she was registered by the nuns at St. Francis de Sales."

"And after 2005?" Minerva asked.

"She has middle school records, high school records, driver's license and pretty much every identity marker offered." The long haired man answered.

"So she's either some street urchin or she's got a secret to hide." A smile crept along her face. This could be interesting. "But it has nothing to do with the case at bar. Guess I'll have to destroy the boy the old-fashioned way. Still, dig into McGarden. I want to know what secrets she has."

"As you wish." Rufus said, returning to his typing.

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Laxus Dreyar stood with Detective Sergeant Elfman Strauss in front of what everyone was calling the human tree. In its own way, it was well crafted, like a prop from a horror movie or something. It was truly beyond words.<p>

"First things first." Laxus called out. "Where's the chief medical examiner?"

"She said she's not coming." Laharl answered. "She said that she's too old and that it's too early in the morning to deal with, and I quote, 'dumbass people'. She wants you to bring it to the lab."

Laxus closed his eyes and pinched his brow. That woman was so contrarian. But there was no one better at discovering the secrets of the dead than her. Plus she's one of the few people that has been with the captain since the creation of the original Task Force. That made her trustworthy.

"Akatsuki? Hamal? Front and center." He yelled.

"Here, lieu." Two voices, male and female, identified themselves.

Ren Akatsuki, trained in forensic anthropology and entomology, is a Japanese native who moved to Fiore years ago to work on his tan. Laxus once heard that he spends his free time at the beach, trying to get even tanner. But he's dutiful and hardworking, qualities he likes in his enforcers. Angès Hamal (though most, because of her timid lamblike nature, call her Aries) trained in DNA and blood splatter analysis, is a small slip of a woman with bright pink hair. She has the great irony of having a weak stomach at the sight of blood and gore and being quite good at her job. Together, they are Lieutenant Dreyar's liaisons to the medical examiner's office, helping him in his fight against crime.

"Explain this." Laxus ordered.

"I've been examining the bones." Ren began. "Luckily for us, whoever did this used the femurs so we were able to estimate that they are between 25 and 35 and in near perfect health while they were alive."

"How did they die?" The lieutenant asked.

"That would be impossible to tell, lieu." Ren told him. "We are missing many bones, particularly the ribcage. There are nick on the bones that indicate knife wounds but it's hard to tell if they are the cause of death or old wounds."

"How about a time of death?" Laxus pressed.

"I couldn't tell you with any degree of certainty." Ren explained. "The bones are clean of any organic material. We'll know more when we get to the morgue."

Laxus sighed. It's not the answer he wanted to hear. Now he had to make his way to the morgue and deal with...her.

"Hamal?" The lieutenant barked.

Aries looked positively green. She tried not looking at the tree but every so often it would catch her eye and she would come close to vomiting.

"If you're gonna hurl, do so later." There was an amused smirk on his face. It was the same at every crime scene. She'd try her best to do her job and not to throw up but in the end, she would. You could set your watch by her.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "There is no blood. The bones were washed in something, probably bleach. However, if the bone marrow is intact, we can do DNA matches. In any case, we ran facial recognition on the heads. One name popped up, Bradford Deitman."

"Diesel." Laxus sighed. "He was part of Titan Nose."

"Bora's gang?" Elfman questioned.

"He was suppose to testify in Bora's trial." Laxus told his partner.

"We identified three more heads: Jeffery Mason, Tyson Brady, and Edward Harrison." Aries heaved, trying her hardest not to retch.

"More of Bora's men, all of them to testify in court." Laxus could feel his irritation rising. "This was a hit."

"By who?" Elfman asked. "The black haired guy who escaped?"

"Possibly." Laxus didn't believe it was Gajeel. The last contact he got from the undercover was that Bora asked him to get money for the drugs. He wouldn't jeopardize this case just to take out some gangbangers. Bora was the real target, not these fools. "But let's look at it from another angle."

"What angle?" The white haired enforcer asked.

"Bora gets the queen of darkness to try and beat the case in court." Laxus explained. "He wins, the first thing he'll want to do his get back to business. How can he do that if he's killing his own men?"

Elfman was silent. That was a reasonable possibility. "A rival gang?"

"That makes sense." The blond man nodded. "This tree is a warning. It says **'DON'T FUCK WITH US**' in big bold caps. But who's trying to outmuscle Bora? That's what we should be asking."

Laxus pulled out his phone and started dialing.

"Laytis." He barked. "Bradford Deitman, Jeffery Mason, Tyson Brady, and Edward Harrison. Dump their phone records, emails. I want everything on them."

As soon as he got confirmation, Laxus ended the call.

"Alright, listen up." The lieutenant yelled. "I want these bones and heads taken to the morgue. The chief medical examiner will take over from there. I want photos, sketches, and every video tape within a five block radius sent to COMPFOR so that Laytis can start analyzing. You've got two hours."

"Yes sir." The enforcers' cries resounded.

"Elfman, get warrants for their homes and places of business." Laxus said to his partner. "Take a team and comb through everything."

"Gotcha." The white haired man nodded. Then Elfman walked away to make a team.

"Akatsuki, Hamal." He called out to his forensics team but only saw Ren. "Where's Hamal?"

From the distance, Laxus could hear the sound of liquid violently hitting the ground. He bit back a chuckle. Right on time.

"Akatsuki, when Hamal is finish, you'll help transport the tree with her." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Ren nodded.

With that, Ren left him. Laxus then dialed another number from his phone. After waiting, he got an answer.

"Justine, we have a problem." He said to the person on the other end.

* * *

><p>Gildarts and Gajeel were driving towards Magnolia College in total silence. The older man could see that his young protégé was sulking. He thought it was hilarious.<p>

"Are you seriously mad?" Gildarts asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I ain't going to no head shrink." Gajeel roared.

"Not debatable." Gildarts told him. "Captain's orders."

"Fine. Then let me talk to him." The long haired man asked. "I'll tell him..."

The car made a sudden stop at an intersection. Gajeel looked at his handler with curiosity.

"In our line of work, we've seen lots of things that most people will never have to deal with in their lives." Gildarts admitted. "Whether you believe it or not, it eats away at you. It did with me."

The undercover couldn't believe it. "You went to therapy?" There was some incredulity in his voice. Gajeel would have believed that he was an immovable rock.

"Are you surprised?" Gildarts chuckled. "His name was Reedus Jonah."

"So what?" Gajeel spat. "You sat on a couch, talked about your feelings."

"Actually, we drew pictures." The older man guffawed.

"You're shitting me." The long haired man couldn't believe it. Every enforcer worth his badge knows that Gildarts Clive is man who singlehandedly took down the most dangerous cartel before they could get a stranglehold in Fiore. This is not a man who draws pictures.

"I'll show you my pictures someday." Gildarts laughed. "You'll get a kick out of them. Reedus did."

Now Gajeel wanted to see the pictures.

"In seven years, you've seen things, heard things, experienced things that most can't even imagine." The older man seriously. "You think that it doesn't affect you. But when you undergo the therapy, you begin to realize that you aren't as held together as you might think."

Gildarts looked at the younger agent. "You need to go. The captain is worried about you. So every Sunday, you will report to Dr. Lockser. She studied under the therapist who helped me. So she's good. It's only one hour a week but you'd be surprised how much good it will do you."

Gajeel looked away. He still thought it was stupid but there was no getting out of it.

"Anyways, your job for today is to go to the college and grab your IDs, schedules and books." He ordered. "After that, there is a bar that the college kids frequent. It's called Nightshade. The Task Force believes that there is someone pushing ecstasy and meth there. Odds are that Porla probably has a hand in it. Infiltrate and work your way up."

"I know how to work." Gajeel answered.

"Also, be on the lookout for those two from Black Hunter." Gildarts added. "If they are here, you can bet that they are scouting out the competition. Report only. Do not engage."

The car came to a slow stop. Gajeel had reached his destination, Magnolia College. The long haired man opened the passenger door.

"Have a good day at school, son." Gildarts said in a sing-song voice.

Gajeel, with the fury of a soaked cat, slammed the door with all his might. Even with it closed, the undercover could still hear his handler's laughter. He stomped off in the direction of the main campus building.

* * *

><p>Levy walked out of the college book store with her purchases. Glee was written all over her face as she held three books in her arms.<p>

Books were her passion. While she loved the computer and hacking, the blue haired woman loved books even more. She loved how she could get engrossed in a world not her own. She could be a plucky princess, a powerful mage, a resourceful adventurer, whatever her heart desires. It was easier to live in books than in reality sometimes.

In the real world, Levy was at a crossroads. This was going to be her last year of college. The question of what comes after has passed through her mind several times. Was she going to go legit and get a job on the straight and narrow? Would she go underground and become a fulltime hacker? Or would she be caught by one side of the law or the other?

Evidentially, two hackers have been putting their feelers out for her.

One of them was a digital bounty hunter known around the deep web as The Remembrancer. She knew of this hacker by reputation only. It was only recently that Levy learned that this person was in the employ of Minerva Orland. This person was looking for information about her early life before she landed at the orphanage. Unfortunately for that person, there won't be anything for him to find. Her family lived off the grid until circumstances put her in St. Francis de Sales. Whatever records are to be found will only be in paper files and paper files are unhackable.

The other was trying to follow the money Levy stole from Bora Eminentia. This person went by the handle The Archive. The petite woman deduced that he was tied to law enforcement and that the only person with that kind of skill was Hibiki Laytis. He was decrypting the code she used to transfer Bora's money. With enough time, the head of computer forensics could find the money and her with it. Levy will either need to create a new code if she's going to collect that money or abandon it.

Well, one problem at a time.

A chime sounded from her pocket. Levy shifted the books in her hand around so that she could grab her phone. While walking, the hacker unlocked her phone. She received a message from her throwaway laptop. It was a still shot from the video at Bora's club, zoomed in on the man that Levy felt look familiar while analyzing the footage. There was text under the picture.

_James Ian Donnelly  
>63 percent match.<em>

Levy sighed. She knew that the face was familiar. To think, after all these years, he would return back in her life...

All of a sudden, Levy was knocked backwards, making her drop both her books and her phone. When she looked up to find out why she fell, the blue haired woman saw a man walking away. The hacker only saw his back but she saw that he was a very tall, very large man with long black hair. He was walking towards the main campus building.

"Pay attention to where you're walking, shrimp." The man said in a gruff voice.

Levy gritted her teeth. This man was beyond rude. Not only did he knock her down but the brute didn't even stop to help pick up her stuff. This lack of human kindness was infuriating.

"That big lummox." She seethed.

Levy picked up her books and her phone. The books were fine. The phone, however, now sported a crack screen.

Levy was immensely angry. It wasn't the phone or the books. Those could be easily replaced. It was just the lack of human decency. How could someone not even say sorry when they were clearly in the wrong?

The wheels in Levy's head started turning. The guy who knocked her over had no idea who she was, had no idea that this is the woman who could burn him with a few keystrokes. This man was now in her crosshairs.

"You've just incurred the wrath of Shadowgear, you Neanderthal." She muttered under her breath. "I will burn you."

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of the chapter.<strong>

**I wonder if you expected Gajeel and Levy to meet this way.**

**This is the last of the introductory chapters, where I describe who the characters are. From here, I'll start the story proper.**

**Well, liked it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or another? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Until next time,**

**A. Angel.**


	7. Bump in the Road

**Hello boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.  
><strong>

**It's been some time since I last posted. I apologize. Things are getting really stressful around here. But I am trying to churn out chapters in all my stories. So please, please be patient.**

**daikiichan, yeah Levy can get a bit short-sighted at times in this story. She's kind of a mix between her Earthland and Edolas versions. I like it so far. Hopefully others will too as the story goes along.**

**Minar, that made me laugh. It was something that came to me stream of consciousness. It is a humorous idea.**

**La Faible, gangbangers is a derogatory term. So it was intentional.**

**MWEH, There is going to be some more gory stuff. I mean, this is a story about drug dealers. Of course, there would have to some violence. As for the other thing, we'll see.**

**And to everyone who reviewed, favorited/followed this, thank you.**

**So yeah, I really have no setup for this next chapter. So how about we dive right into this?**

**Please enjoy this presentation.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Bump in the Road<strong>

Laxus hated going down to the Coroner's morgue. He could deal with dead bodies on the streets. It was just the room itself. It made him think about his mortality and it sucked. It didn't matter whether he became the greatest enforcer Fiore had ever seen. He could rid the world of drugs and it still wouldn't make a difference. His fate was this room. The cold slab awaited him. It was very sobering. With a deep breath, he walked in.

A old, short woman with graying hair was directing two young interns to put the bones the Task Force had collected earlier onto the slabs, putting bones and skulls together along with Angès 'Aries' Hamal.

"That is the wrong skull." The old woman yelled at one of the interns, a girl with bubblegum pink hair. "A-4 goes on the far table. I swear, you interns will be the death of me."

It isn't unusual to hear Porlyusica Grandeeny yelling as you enter the morgue. She is a severe woman in her late 70s, early 80s still doing her job even after close to 40 years on the Fiore Criminal Task Force as a coroner. She never had a kind word for anyone save the Captain and that was only because they've worked together for so long. She had moved up the ladder mostly due to longevity and dislike of humans in general. The funny thing was that she was more comfortable with dead bodies than with live people. Now she is the chief medical examiner, in charge of all autopsies. As a professional, her analyses are spot on; as a person, however, she was horrible. As Laxus worked with her, he learned, if not to like her, to respect her.

Laxus cleared his throat.

Porlyusica turned around, a cross look on her face. "What do you want, brat?" She said sourly. To the chief medical examiner, it didn't matter whether or not she was speaking to the Lieutenant of the Task Force. Everyone was a brat or an idiot to her.

"Do you have a cause of death yet?" He asked.

The old woman's eyes flared. "Didn't I say that I would call you when I was done? Did you get a call? NO! Do you see that we are still working on it? YES! Now leave me alone."

The lieutenant shrugged his powerful shoulders. "Don't blame me." He said simply. "The captain wants an update now."

The medical examiner shook her head. Of course that old idiot wanted answer now. "Fine. Come here." She said.

She led Laxus to one to the slabs. It had a decapitated head and both arm and leg bones. "This is Bradford Deitman, or what's left of him." She continued. "I cannot make a positive cause of death because I am missing his organs and the rest of his skeleton but there are some suppositions I can make."

"Fine. Give me that at least." He conceded.

Porlyusica grabbed the arm bones and held it up to Laxus's eye level. "The arm was disarticulated with a power saw, probably but not conclusively post-mortem." She explained. "It was cleanly cut where the bone met muscle and sinew, someone who knew what they were doing, perhaps a butcher or a surgeon. The other limbs were removed in the same way. So were the heads. On many of the bones, there are knife wounds consistent with survival knives. I cannot confirm that this is the cause of death but if I had to guess, it would be stabbing. The heads were more than likely put in a vacuum or some other place devoid of oxygen to preserve it. But it wasn't in a freezer because there would be some cellular damage."

"What happened to the flesh of the arms and legs?" Laxus asked. "Deitman was alive at least a week ago so there's no way it could rot that quickly."

"It didn't rot." The medical examiner told him. "The most likely answer was that it was boiled off."

"Boiled?" The lieutenant was perplexed.

"You must not cook at all." The old woman spat. "Humans are just like any animal with meat. If you put it in a pot of boiling water for a while, it will eventually slide off the bone."

"And then what?" Laxus was getting queasy from this blunt discussion and he had a strong constitution.

"I don't know. Isn't that your job?" She answered, offended that she was even asked that question. "Maybe the guy you're looking for is turning the meat into lard or paste or something."

"Fine, fine." The blond sighed. "The human tree, how was this person able to make this?"

"It was most likely constructed at the site." Porlyusica told him. "There's epoxy glue, plaster of Paris, a base of cement mix and other bonding agents. It's rather impressive. Someone put a lot of thought into its construction. But it's unlikely one person did this by themselves."

"So we are looking for two or more people, one of which has anatomical knowledge and might know something about architecture." Laxus said. "Got it."

"Good." The medical examiner huffed. "Now get out of my lab."

The lieutenant was about to make a snide remark but his phone started ringing. He pressed the call button.

"Dreyar." He answered. The person on the other end of the line spoke in Laxus's ear. "Yeah, I was just discussing the ..." The blond stopped speaking when the person alerted him of something. "What do you mean we have to produce... Give me a minute. I will come to you." He angrily pressed the end call button.

* * *

><p>In room 104 of the Connell building is an auditorium-style classroom. Every semester, this classroom is one of the few in Magnolia University that is completely full, mostly with women. That is because this classroom belongs to the most popular teacher in this institution, forensic psychologist Professor Loke Regulus.<p>

You wouldn't know that Loke was in his early forties just by looking at him. He has the youthful look of a man half his age. His burnt gold hair looked like a lion's mane. He wore transition glasses that almost always obscured his eyes. The professor dressed sharply, wearing a black suit and red tie that hung a bit loosely around his neck. He looked like a man out of GQ than a teacher. In fact, he was recently featured in an article in Fiore Monthly as the number one most eligible bachelor in the public field. (In that same publication, Hibiki was number two and Laxus was seventh.)

The man isn't just a pretty face. Loke is an American citizen, trained at the FBI Academy at Quantico, specifically Behavior Studies. He has constructed hundreds of psychological profiles that has helped law enforcement capture some of the worst criminals in the US. Professor Regulus has been consistently asked to give lectures to law enforcement agencies around the world. You may wonder why a man as prolific as him would take a teaching position at a local (but prestigious) college. Well, along with training up a new generation of psychologists, he was a gigantic flirt. The professor was very popular among the female contingency and his classes are almost always filled with adoring women.

Lucy and Levy weren't among those who adored the psychology professor. Lucy did respect his knowledge, especially considering that she was majoring in that field. Levy enjoyed the engaging way he taught his classes. As such, the two always tried to make sure that they had at least one of his courses.

The first thing the two girls did was sign in at the clipboard and found seats near the back. Lucy then left her bag in the seat next to them. Natsu, although he would be joining them in this course, couldn't make it because he had to go to court. More and more students poured in. Then the professor walked in, talking with two females students.

"Alright." The professor yelled out. "Has everyone signed in?"

The two students he was talking to signed in and handed the clipboard to the professor. He scanned through the list. "Natsu Dragneel?" He called.

"He had to go to court." Lucy yelled back. "He'll be back next class."

"So I have you all to myself today, Miss Heartfilia." He winked saucily. "Do not worry. Your prince is here."

The class laughed lightly. Lucy shook her head in annoyance. This was par for the course for the professor. Classic Regulus.

"And what about Gajeel Redfox?" He asked.

There was a pause and some chatter as everyone looked around to see if they could find this person. Loke was about to cross the name off the list when his door opened rather forcefully. A man with long wild black hair walked in, uncaring that he was interrupting the class. Levy's eyes widened when this man walked in. It was the same guy that knocked her over hours ago and didn't apologize.

"You are?" The professor asked.

"Redfox." Gajeel answered.

"You're late." Loke sighed, not really caring that his student was late.

"Blame registration." He replied.

"Well, find an empty seat somewhere."

With that, Gajeel looked for an empty seat, unaware that there was a blue haired woman glaring daggers at him. He found one, four rows ahead of Levy and Lucy.

"Now, with that out of the way, we can begin." Loke smiled. "And we are going to talk about my favorite subject...women." There was a light chuckle at the joke. "As a society, we tend to view women as the kinder, gentler sex. We don't normally see them as capable of committing heinous acts. Why is that? Well, this class is going to answer that question and look at some cases of deadly and dangerous women."

There was a murmuring in the class as they were discussing amongst themselves.

"Alright." Loke said. "Underneath your seats, you are going to find a syllabus." There was a rustling in the class as the students retrieved their syllabi. "The first page contains the books you'll need for this class. The second through fourth pages deal with the course materials. And the last pages are about the semester project."

Levy was hardly paying attention to the professor. She was glaring at Gajeel, the brute who knocked her over without even a word of apology. That irritated her beyond belief. Lucy noticed it.

"What's wrong?" Lucy whispered.

"The guy who came into the classroom..." Levy whispered back. "That guy knocked me down, broke my phone, dropped my books and didn't apologize."

The blonde could see the wheels in her friend's mind turning. "Levy, what are you thinking?"

Levy ignored the warning. She pulled out her phone and accessed school records. Last year, the school had asked her to revamp their website. The hacker, of course, agreed to do it. Before she submitted her design, she left a backdoor in a place that only she knew where it was and only she could access. For emergency only...of course

"Gajeel Redfox." Levy muttered as she typed.

"Levy, think about this." Lucy pleaded quietly. "We just finished a job. My boyfriend is going to be testifying in that case. And the Task Force is looking for the money. Please, just let this go, at least for now."

But Levy wasn't listening to the sound advice. She had her blinders on, which is usually how she gets whenever the hacker believes that there is an injustice being committed. So Lucy did the only thing she could do, the blonde grabbed Levy's phone. The blue-haired woman gave her friend the eye.

"Is there a problem, ladies?" Loke asked, calling out the two best friends.

"No, professor." The two women said contritely.

"If there is one, please come find me." He said flirtatiously. "I always have time to help out my students."

Both Levy and Lucy grimaced while the class laughed. After that, the two looked at each other. They knew that this conversation wasn't over. They would resolve this at home.

* * *

><p>Gajeel hated college. To be fair, this is his first taste of formal education. This is one man who can honestly say that he got his education on the street. Don't get me wrong. He knew how to read, knew how to write and knew how to math thanks to one of his old friends. But beyond that, these classes were a pain.<p>

The womanizing teacher was going on about deadly women but Gajeel was already familiar with a few on a personal level. (And he had a sneaking suspicion that someone had it out for him in that class. Call it paranoia but it's that same feeling that has kept him alive for seven years.) Luckily for him, he took a nap during that film class. Honestly, watching movies for college credit? Whatever. And in two days, he'll meet with the target, Jose Porla.

But for now, he had other objectives to accomplish. He needed to find the two from Black Hunter. However, the long haired man didn't know where to start. Better to go home and regroup with Gildarts.

Gajeel opened the door to his apartment and was greeted by silence. His handler wasn't here. However, since he had never had a handler before, the long haired man didn't know if this was normal or not.

A loud buzzing filled the empty space. It was his old phone. Gajeel grabbed it from his pocket and pressed the call button without looking at it.

"What?" He yelled at the phone.

"Kurogane!" A desperate voice on the other end of the line responded. "It's Tails."

The long haired man was confused. He didn't know, or possibly remember, anyone named Tails. "Who?"

"Tails, man." The man repeated. "You know, Miles Parrish."

Miles Parrish had been in Titan Nose for years. He was one of their best pushers, able to clear thousands of dollars in a night. With his wild, gangly appearance, he didn't look like he was put together. But that was his greatest asset. You underestimated him and he takes advantage of that. He liked to be called Tails after the Sonic character but no one really called him that.

"What do you want?" He groused.

"Diesel's dead, man." The man whimpered.

That perked up the undercover agent. "Diesel?" He asked.

"Two guys, one blond and one with dreads, grabbed him off the street and no one has seen him since." He spat out rapidly. "And it's not just him. There's..." There was a loud crash on Miles' end of the line. "Kurogane, they're here." He whispered. "I need to get out of here. Come find me, please."

With that, the line went dead.

Gajeel put his phone in his pocket. He wasn't really concerned with whether or not the guy was killed but this guy gave him some troubling news. Diesel was a big part of the case against Bora and Titan Nose. If he was killed...

The door to his apartment opened suddenly. Gajeel went to reach for his gun but remembered that he didn't have one since he lost his to the two from Black Hunter. Thankfully, it was only Gildarts.

"Getting a little jumpy, eh kid?" The older man chuckled as he entered the apartment.

"I don't have a gun on me anymore." Gajeel said, shaking his head.

"I can get you one." Gildarts answered. "But we need to talk."

"Me first." The long haired man interrupted. "One of the guys that I used to work with told me that Diesel was taken and killed."

"What he told you was true." The handler sighed, pulling something out of his pocket. "The Task Force just found his remains today." He handed Gajeel a picture of the crime scene.

"The fuck." Not much could unsettle Gajeel Redfox but this was truly messed up. In his wildest imagination he couldn't have thought up something like this.

"It's not just Diesel in there." Gildart explained. "Mason, Brady, and Harrison are there as well."

"Our whole case against Bora, you're saying." Gajeel grimaced.

"Is Bora capable of killing his own men?" The older officer asked.

Gajeel shook his head. "Bora doesn't do killing...brings too much attention." He answered. "And he wouldn't kill his own men."

"Well, either way, the case is falling apart." Gildarts told him. "You need to find anyone else who could even be remotely connected with Titan Nose. Start with that guy you just talked to. Otherwise, Bora's going free."

Gajeel nodded. It was a terrible plan but months will be wasted if he can't find anyone to connect Bora to the drug case.

* * *

><p>"All rise." The bailiff called out. Everyone in the courtroom rose onto their feet. "Judge Jura Neekis is presiding."<p>

Minerva Orland and her client, Bora Eminentia, were standing on the left of the judge. For the prosecution, Evergreen Strauss and Freed Justine were standing on the right.

If there is one word that sums up Freed Justine, it is conviction. If you saw him on the street, you wouldn't think that he was a lawyer, what with his long green hair, effeminate face and lanky body. However, behind his androgynous look is a legal mind second to none. It isn't an exaggeration to say that this man an encyclopedic knowledge of the law. He was the kind of kid that wanted to make a difference in the world and now, as an adult, gets the chance. Passionate and driven, he dedicates himself to investigating and prosecuting criminals and has a 77 percent conviction rate where the national average is 55.

His success has not gone unnoticed. A year ago, he was promoted to Executive Assistant Barrister, which means that he is the man prosecuting Fiore's high profile cases. To defendants, having Freed against you is a surefire way to a conviction. Most people choose to take a plea deal instead of locking horns with the man many call Fiore's Jack McCoy.

Minerva, unlike most in her position, wasn't afraid. She has beaten him in the courtroom several times. It's why those with money hire her. But that shouldn't mean she didn't respect Freed. On the contrary, she knew that he was quick on his feet, passionate in his job and very persuasive. Beating him gives her more joy than anything in the world.

"Alright." Judge Neekis said. "There are two motions before the court."

"Yes." Minerva said. "Motion to suppress video evidence on the grounds of it being illegally obtained."

"How was it illegally obtained?" Freed asked in a calm voice. "Mr. Eminentia installed the system himself."

Minerva went to her briefcase and pulled out some papers, handing a copy to Freed and Evergreen and one to the judge.

"This is the invoice for the security system." She explained. "You will see that he only ordered visual but not audio."

"So he had a problem with his contractor." Evergreen stated. "How is that the problem of the Task Force or Justice?

"Your Honor, I want to call to the stand Natsu Dragneel." Minerva announced.

"Who is he and how is he relevant?" Freed Justine asked.

"If you look at the signatory part, you will find that Mr. Dragneel is the man who installed the security system." The defense lawyer explained. "He can answer any question about it."

Freed and Evergreen were about to protest but the judge held his hand. "Very well, Miss Orland."

Minerva turned to the court officer and nodded. He opened the door and allowed Natsu to enter the courtroom. He looked very uncomfortable. Lucy had insisted in dressing him for the occasion. He was wearing a beige suit and dress shirt. His lawyer, a disheveled man with his briefcase in disarray, followed behind him. The doctor in training was tugging at his collar, as if he was having problems breathing. The court officer led him to the witness stand.

"Please raise your right hand." The court officer commanded.

Natsu did so.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" The officer asked.

"Yep." The pink haired man smiled.

The court officer walked away, allowing Minerva to begin her inquest.

"Mr. Dragneel." She began.

"Please, call me Natsu." He said mirthfully. "Mr. Dragneel is my father."

This caused the courtroom to let out a chuckle. Minerva was the only one who glowered at his joke.

"Natsu..." She corrected. "You work for Creative Solutions, correct?"

"Yep. Going on two years." Natsu answered.

"Could you tell the court what your position is in the company?" She pressed.

"I am an installation technician." The college student explained. "When an order is placed for a camera security system, I come in and install it."

"And you follow the order perfectly?" Minerva asked.

"Sure." Natsu nodded.

Minerva went to her desk and pulled out a copy of the invoice and handed it to Natsu. The college student scanned the document.

"This is your signature?" She asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Please tell the court the service you provided as stated on the invoice." The defense lawyer pressed.

"It says '20 camera system'. Natsu clarified. "That's a package for business that need a little more security than the corner store. It comes with a master control board, color picture, zooming in, a four week memory bank for each camera and the ability to copy video. All together plus installation 15,000 jewels."

"Does that package come with audio?" Minerva queried.

"Not usually but if the client asks for it, we do provide it." Natsu said.

"Did my client ask for audio?" The lawyer asked, arms akimbo.

Natsu put his index finger on his chin. "I don't remember." He said.

"How very convenient." Minerva scoffed.

"Objection." Freed called out. "Does Ms. Orland have a question?"

"So you installed audio with a package that my client didn't ask for." She pressed. "Why?"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "I don't remember."

"You were arrested in 2012, correct?" The defense lawyer pounced.

"Vandalism. But that was years ago." The pink haired man protested.

"And you got off with a slap on the wrist." Minerva attacked. "I wonder why."

"Objection." Freed called out. "Sidebar."

"Please approach." Jura said.

Minerva, Freed and Evergreen approached the judge.

"What is defense trying to say?" Freed asked. "That the Task Force pressured a man who was facing a misdemeanor four years go and already did his time into installing audio on a security system months before they began their investigation of Mr. Eminentia?"

"It's a question that deserves to be asked." Minerva offered.

"This is all conjecture." Evergreen supplied. "A way to vilify the Task Force."

"Ms. Orland, do you have any proof to back up these claims?" Jura asked.

"Not at this time, Your Honor." Minerva sighed.

"Then the motion to suppress the video is quashed." With a bang of the gavel, the three lawyers stepped back. He then turned to Natsu. "Mr. Dragneel, thank you for your time. You are free to go."

Natsu nodded. He stepped out of the witness well and walked out of the courtroom with his lawyer.

Minerva shrugged her shoulders. It was a long shot but even she knew that she couldn't suppress the evidence. That was okay. The first motion was a feign to get Justice off of her real plan.

"Is there a second motion, Ms. Orland?" Judge Neekis asked.

"Yes." The defense lawyer stated. "Motion to produce evidence."

"We've turned over all evidence during discovery." Freed said.

"Well, I've been over the transcripts." She began. "And I've found that there are many transcripts with a person known only as Cobalt. Now I've identified nearly all of the people on Justice's witness list: Bradford Deitman, Jeffery Mason, Tyson Brady, and Edward Harrison. However, none of these correspond to Cobalt. Now I'm curious. I don't see the person identified as Cobalt."

"We have provided everything..." Evergreen began before she was cut off by Minerva.

"Cobalt is the person who is the crux of the Task Force's case, which means he is an undercover officer." The Sabertooth scoffed. "How am I to defend against these baseless charges if I can't cross-examine this Cobalt?"

"We have Deitman, Mason, Brady, and Harrison testifying on behalf of Justice." Freed stated in an even tone.

"Two things wrong with that." Minerva sighed dramatically. "One, it is a violation of my client's constitutional rights to face his accuser. And two, all four of the people on Justice's witness list are presumed dead in the horrific attack at Clover Harbor."

Freed and Evergreen looked at each other in confusion. The Task Force had not informed them about this. Judge Neekis was quiet.

"Did you know about this?" The judge asked.

"This is the first I've heard about it." Freed said.

"Now that puts us in a conundrum." Minerva clucked her tongue. "How can Mr. Eminentia receive a fair trial if all we have are transcripts? I can't cross-examine paper. The only way that he can is if we interview the undercover agent. Perhaps, this is a case of entrapment."

"An undercover can't be called to testify while he or she is on a case." Evergreen stated. "Justice versus Kane. That established the Undercover Shield Act."

"Unless there is a compelling need that outweighs anonymity." Minerva smirked. She got them. It was like sinking her teeth into her latest prey.

"This undercover is a valuable asset. If his or her identity is compromised..." Freed pleaded.

"Since when does protecting an identity of a Task Force asset more important than the rights of the citizens of Fiore?" She wasn't one for the soapbox but boy could she use it. "A man's life and future are at stake, the witnesses against him are presumed dead and the only one who may or may not be able to tie my client to the selling of these drugs is trying to hide behind the Shield Act."

The judge held up his hands. "Ms. Orland is right." He stated. "She is entitled to challenge the veracity of the Task Force's claim. And Justice is right. The Task Force cannot lose a valuable asset. So here's the compromise. Ms. Orland can question this 'Cobalt', however first I will hear what 'Cobalt' has to say for myself in chambers and make my ruling then."

Minerva smirked. Exactly how she planned.

"Voir dire begins in three days." Judge Neekis told the lawyers. "Freed, you tell the Task Force to have Cobalt ready in a week's time."

"Yes, Your Honor." Freed sighed.

"We're adjourned." With a bang of his gavel, he dismissed the lawyers and the defendant from his courtroom.

Bora walked out of the courtroom with his unable to wrap his mind around what was going on. First, he heard that his guys were killed. Second, he is still going through this trial. Third, now they are going to bring the undercover agent that apparently knows about his operation. That bugged him. He thought he was so careful but apparently someone got in his organization. Whoever it was could bring down everything he worked so hard for. And now his lawyer is grinning like she just told a kid that Santa wasn't real.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Bora spat. "The video is in. And now an undercover agent is testifying against me."

"You're an idiot." Minerva said with the same smirk on her face. "If this undercover is as valuable as I think he is, the Task Force isn't going to want to give him up. Therefore, Justice is going to deal. If I play my cards right, you could be dealing with probation."

"And if you can't..." Bora asked. "This is my life, my freedom you're talking about."

"Fuck your life and freedom." Minerva scoffed. "I don't care about that. I care about winning. Winning is all that matters. In the end, you are just a tiny man in the middle of a bigger game."

Bora clenched his teeth. This woman is rather fortunate that she has a use to him. If she didn't...

"Lucky for you, my winning benefits you." The lawyer smirked. "So keep your head down and your mouth shut and you'll be fine."

She saw Freed and Evergreen walking out. Minerva gave the duo a cheeky wave and grin. The green haired lawyer pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Lieutenant." Freed said into the phone. "It's Justine. You're not going to like it."

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of the chapter.<strong>

**I find that I don't like creating OCs. I have an idea for nearly every major character in FT for my fic. But sometimes, I just want to use an already made character. It's one thing for my series of one-shots to create a character. I won't use them again. It's quite another to make one for a story. Oh well, we'll get through this.**

**Just in case anyone cares to know, allow me to define voir dire. It's the process in which potential jurors are selected and weeded through to see whether or not they have any biases that can affect their ability to properly judge a case on the evidence.**

**I wanted to jump in with Gajeel's new mission of infiltrating Black Hunter but found it too early. That's why I have him going to find another person from Titan Nose.**

**Well, liked it? Hated it? Have no opinion one way or the other? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Until next time,**

**A. Angel**


	8. Slip into My Web

**Hello boys and girls. I'd like to tell a story.**

**You've asked for it. It's here. The next chapter in my GaLe epic.**

**crystalgolem, math-otaku, the Levy I'm portraying is a mix of both her Earthland and Edolas personalities. She can be sweet but she can also be feisty and you'll see that in later chapters.**

**Burningthroughthesky, no I am not studying law. I did take some law classes but only enough to have a basic understanding of the courtroom. The rest I gathered from Law and Order.**

**And I want to write a huge thank you to all those who read and/or reviewed. I'm happy you liked it. And I hope you like this feature presentation.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7 Slip into My Web<br>**

Lieutenant Laxus Dreyar wasn't having a good day. It began with waking up to see a tree made with human bones. Then he had to deal with the human hating medical examiner who couldn't tell him why these people died. Now, he had to go to the Ministry of Justice to explain why he will not be handing over Kurogane to testify. Before leaving, he explained everything to the Captain. Of course, Makarov had the same idea as him. He would go but the media has been hounding him on details of the human tree so he sent Laxus to handle things. And that was fine with the blond.

The Ministry of Justice is in a building known as the Citadel, an edifice that was erected in the days that Fiore was a British colony. It is one of the few buildings in Crocus that remained in its original state after all these years. But it has been retrofitted so that it can take on its new purpose. The building is on a cul-de-sac that is surrounded by heavy concrete walls, armed guards and patrolled entrance. You may wonder why such a cul-de-sac would need armed guards. I should tell you that both the American and British embassies are located there as well. Cars are not normally allowed on this road. Only those with special license plates and IDs can drive on it and they must be checked out by military personnel.

Laxus normally doesn't mind the hoops he has to jump through to get his car into the Citadel. In fact, he's actually proud to do it because it demonstrates just how far he's come. When he was on the beat, he had to walk the cul-de-sac because he didn't have the credentials yet. And it's a long walk with many checkpoints. But now, it's just two in his car. But today, he was more concerned with keeping his undercover than fondly reminiscing of how far he's come. He reached the Citadel and left his car with the keys in the ignition. This is the most heavily secured area in Fiore. No one would be stupid enough to steal it.

Freed Justine's office was on the second floor of the Citadel. Laxus knew the way. He had been coming to his office ever since becoming a detective. He was always bringing cases for the barrister to prosecute. If Elfman was his partner in the field, then Freed was his partner in the courtroom.

There are times, however, when Laxus doesn't like going to the Citadel. Those would be when his cases start to fall apart. Sometimes, it's a witness recanting. Or maybe the way that the Task Force collected the evidence wasn't kosher with the Justice. But the one thing that remained constant was the fact that Gajeel's work was so solid that he didn't need to bring him into the light. Now, the work that the operative known as Kurogane risked his life putting this case together is going to pieces because of a legal snafu. No, Laxus didn't like it one bit.

The executive assistant barrister was writing down notes. Laxus always found it strange that Freed never used technology if he could help it. The green haired man preferred note pads to laptops, rolodexes to PDAs, written letters to email. He was totally an analog, old-fashion man. Call the man a hipster but damn, did it make the lieutenant respect the barrister.

Now for the meeting.

"Freed." Laxus sighed.

"I'm sorry, Laxus." The attorney said.

Laxus was frustrated. It wasn't Freed's fault, he knew that. It's just part of the justice system, innocent until proven guilty and all that.

"I didn't know that our main witnesses were killed." He continued, as if he wasn't interrupted. "If I had, I would have pushed for a continuum."

"I just learned this morning." Laxus replied, distraught. Physical evidence was good but hearing it from witnesses, especially from those higher up in Bora's organization.

"I'm not blaming you." The barrister sighed. "I'm just frustrated. I don't like being blindsided in court."

"You and me both." Laxus spat.

"Minerva pounced on us. I didn't see it coming." The green haired man stood up, trying to calm himself. "Deitman, Mason, Brady and Harrison were the bulk of our case. Without them, we don't have a strong enough case."

"We have other people in his gang." The blond lieutenant said.

"They are low level dealers." Freed answered. "They don't have direct access to Bora. Those four had the best access. Well, except for the bodyguard. Have you been able to find him? He might be able to link Bora to the drugs."

"He's in the wind, wherever he is." Laxus replied, not missing a beat. The lawyer is rather perceptive. He might suspect something. "We are expending every available resource to find him."

"If you can, perhaps I can make a case to protect your undercover." Freed said, not realizing the irony that the undercover is the bodyguard. "But until then, you have to produce Cobalt."

"Me and the captain are agreed." Laxus crossed his arms in defiance. "We are not handing over Cobalt. Our undercover is far too important. If Cobalt is discovered, it will be impossible to reestablish cover."

"This is not a request." The attorney replied. "This is a court order. The Task Force is bound by the same the same rules as the criminals. You have to produce Cobalt. Judge Neekis is discreet. Your undercover will be protected. But if you do not, Mr. Eminentia being free will be the least of your worries. You will be charged with contempt."

"In a world of facial recognition, DNA analysis, computer software, and other technological crap, it's getting harder and harder to have deep cover enforcers." Laxus told him. "Cobalt is our best because only four people know of this person's existence. I put Cobalt in front of a judge, I risk losing our best operative. We are fighting a war on drugs and no one does a better job of getting close enough to make a case than Cobalt. And if I must go to jail to protect our asset, so be it."

Freed shook his head. "It is not noble what you are doing." The lawyer scoffed. "Mr. Eminentia is entitled to the same protections under the law as everyone else. He has the right to face his accuser. The fact that you aren't..."

"Yeah, so what?" Laxus snapped. "People like Bora, they push this poison onto people. And I will do everything in my power in order to stop them. The Task Force needs Cobalt. We will not give up our operative."

"So Bora goes free, with his drugs and hidden money, ready to restart his business." Freed scolded. "While the guy who's charged with protecting Fiore from people like Bora is locked in jail."

Laxus was about to say something snarky but a thought crossed his mind. "His money?" He said in a whisper, almost to himself. "What money?"

"You're kidding, right?" The lawyer scoffed. "He's a drug dealer. He's got millions."

"No." The blond lieutenant answered softly. "He doesn't have money. His money is gone. He was wiped out the night we arrested him."

Freed rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So where's the money?"

"We couldn't find it." Laxus admitted. "It wasn't liquidated. It was stolen from his account."

The lawyer was quiet for a minute. Then... "I have an idea." He said finally. "A way to keep your undercover a secret and put Mr. Eminentia in jail. But I'm not going to like it."

* * *

><p>As part of his new mission to take down the magic bullet drug, Gajeel was given a car by the Task Force. It was a sweet red open hood number. He didn't know that much about cars but the feel of the engine as he rode through the streets...well, there wasn't anything like it. It was power and precision, intimidation and elegance. It was perfect.<p>

He was rushing to Bora's other club, a place in Aster called Devil's Bayonet. Unlike Magic Bullet, DB is a slimy dive bar that only caters to the dregs of society. Bora never set foot in this cesspool, preferring to let his underlings run it while keeping his hands clean.

Miles Parrish, the man who called him after classes, ran this club. Gajeel barely knew the guy but somehow this fool had the audacity to believe that they were friends. The undercover was not sure why he had his number but now the Task Force might have a way to make the case against Bora without Diesel and the others.

Gajeel parked in front of the club. He didn't bother locking the car though. This wouldn't take long. He reached for his new SIG Pro from his holster, loving the feeling of it in his hands. There's a part of him that really wants to try this baby out. Maybe there's some bad guys in here. Very carefully, gun first, Gajeel walked into the club. There was no one inside but everything was trashed. Barstools were overturned, broken bottles of booze, someone was looking for something here.

A coppery smell wafted into his nostrils.

Gajeel's eyes drifted onto the floor. A shoe was sticking out. Quickly, he pointed his gun towards the shoe and followed it with his sight. There was a bloodied person on the floor. Carefully, he moved towards the body. The long haired man tried to analyze the face but it was difficult, especially because there were nails driven in both the eyes and nose. It was a man but he couldn't place the face. The undercover felt like he knew this guy.

"Kuro...gane." The guy coughed as blood dribbled down his mouth.

Gajeel wouldn't even admit to himself that he jumped at the sound of the voice. But it was a familiar voice, particularly because he was just on the phone with this guy. This was Parrish. Getting to a crouch and his gun still drawn, the undercover known as Kurogane went over to Parrish.

"Who did this to you?" Gajeel whispered, unsure if they were alone.

Parrish hacked up blood. "They...are still..."

The sound of something fast whizzed past his ear. Gajeel turned around and dove for cover behind an overturned table. He looked to where he was crouching and saw a nail embedded into the wall. A series of thunk-thunk-thunks hit the table. Taking a breath to center himself, he rose slightly, pointed his gun over the table and fired three shots in the direction of his assailant before taking cover again.

Gajeel heard a soft curse. A second later, he perceived the sound of a door opening. With reckless abandon, the undercover jumped up and made chase, following the assailant behind the bar and towards the back door. He put his foot on the threshold to hold the door. Gajeel felt a sharp pain in his forearm. He looked and saw two nails shallowly embedded. He pulled them out quickly, ignoring the blood that dribbled out from the wound and pointed his gun in the direction of the assailant. The squeal of tires burning rubber alerted the undercover that whoever it was that killed Parrish got away.

Gajeel holstered his gun and dug into his pocket for his phone. He entered Gildarts number.

"Yeah, it's me." Gajeel sighed. "I got here too late. This guy is a literal pincushion. The guy who did this left in a hurry. Call Laxus. I'm heading back. This was a waste of time."

Without bothering to hear a response, Gajeel hung up the phone. He walked back to the entrance of the dive, not even bothering to give the dead body another look. He had seen many like him and will probably see many more before this mission is over. Kurogane does not mourn the dead...not since the twins. He jumped into the car without a second thought, preparing himself mentally for the next step in taking down Magic Bullet.

* * *

><p>Levy's advancing programming class finished at 5:00 on the dot as usual and left as quickly as possible. After packing her bag, she walked out of the class and headed home. This was a painfully slow course for her. All of what she is being taught now was stuff she learned at sixteen. But, in order to get the shiny degree that companies want, she needed to take these courses...to do what exactly. She had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. What happens after college? Was she going to continue working at Creative Solutions, the company she created to launder the dirty money she stole from bad guys and continue her life of crime? Was she going to quit stealing and work at a real office at a cubicle, getting hit on by a sad, chubby guy. Or something else?<p>

Levy normally ignored the question of what happens after college and decided to pass the time by doing research on that guy, Gajeel Redfox. She pulled up his college schedule and school picture, finding herself immediately befuddled and slightly intrigued. What was intriguing was his face, studs for eyebrows, studs on his nose and ears. His appearance did not match that of a college student. He looked like a thug. And, in addition to the class he had with her, this guy had history, chemistry, film studies and economics. It was strange. His transcript said that he's a fourth year transfer student without a declared major. But it didn't feel right. None of his classes make sense. It's like he's pulling some Van Wilder thing where he's just staying in college for the hell of it. This made her all the more curious.

Levy then searched for him on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Tinder, hell...even Myspace. But she couldn't find anything on Gajeel. That was strange. There aren't many people who didn't have at least one social network platform so not finding one for the brute made him all the more weird. She had planned a prank, vandalizing his social media platforms with...I don't know...girly stuff. But not having one threw her for a loop. There had to be another way to get back at him.

All too suddenly, Levy found herself at the house she shared with Lucy. And that brought up the tiff they had in Professor Regulus's class. The hacker knew that her friend was right, that she shouldn't be messing around while the case against the drug dealer they ripped off was still active. But she couldn't help herself. Whenever someone slighted her, the blue haired woman felt the need to retaliate immediately. It's the only way to get some semblance of peace. Levy really should have listened to Lucy. But she couldn't that brute get off without some sort of revenge.

Now, Levy has been left with more questions than answers. Why didn't this guy have a Facebook account or something? Why did his courses make no sense? Why was he here? Who was this guy? The blue haired woman shrugged and opened the door to her shared home. She can always figure this out when things settle down.

Lucy was sitting in the living room, reading a book. Apparently, she was waiting for something, or rather, someone.

"Hey." Levy greeted.

"Hey." Lucy returned the greeting. At least she wasn't still mad. That's a good thing.

"Are we good?" The hacker asked.

"Of course." Her friend responded. "I'm just a little worried. Natsu's testifying in a trial of a guy we just ripped off and you're off trying to burn a guy who broke a phone you can easily replace." Levy opened her mouth to protest but Lucy beat her to the punch. "I know it's the principle of the thing but this is the Latvia thing all over again. You get so invested in avenging a wrong that you get tunnel vision."

Levy sighed. Lucy was right as usual. After the bomb the hacker nearly sent to the pedophile in Latvia, she had vowed not to get so invested in revenge. She really needed to tread more carefully for a while.

"So what did you find out about that guy." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. And one look from Lucy's coffee colored eyes told Levy that she knew she looked up in her other class.

"Sorry." She whispered half-heartedly.

"You're not sorry...not really." The blonde chuckled.

"I am sorry for going behind your back." Levy replied.

Lucy didn't challenge that response. "What did you find out about this guy?"

"There's something weird about this guy." The blue-haired woman explained. "This guy's courses don't make sense. He's undeclared and has been for three years. And he doesn't have social media platforms. No Facebook or anything. Well, I was doing just a name search. Maybe if I do some facial recognition."

The blonde gave the matter some thought. Lucy didn't see what was so strange about this guy. Sure, he broke Levy's phone. But what did it matter if the guy didn't have Facebook and why did she care whether or not his courses made sense? But her hacker friend was tenacious. She would pursue this until she got answers and there was nothing Lucy could do to stop her.

"Please just slow down just a bit." Lucy begged.

Lucy was understandably nervous. Levy could appreciate that. And she did owe her that for getting Natsu involved.

There was a knock on the door. Levy, who was closer, opened the door.

"Hey, Levy." Natsu's infectious voice and smile permeated the house. "Lucy here?"

"Natsu, come in." There was a great sense of relief in Lucy's voice. "How did court go?"

"Well, the lawyers asked me if I had somehow worked with the Task Force in setting up the cameras at that club but I told them no and the judge accepted that." The pink haired man said in one breath as he let himself in.

"Well, I'm relieved." The blonde released the breath she didn't know she was holding. Lucy was glad that Natsu didn't suffer any adverse effects thanks to their chicanery. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him because of her.

"Yeah, that was a waste of time." Natsu laughed. "I'm hungry."

Lucy shook her head and chuckled. "Of course you are. We haven't made any food yet but you can get whatever snacks we've got in the fridge."

Needing no further invitation, Natsu went about raiding the girls' fridge. Lucy shook her head. Levy laughed at the guy's voracious appetite.

"How can he eat so much and still stay so fit?" The blonde wondered.

"Yeah, while you ponder that question, I'm going to run facial recognition on Metal Brows." That was the last thing the blue haired woman said before she went to her room.

"Please, just slow down." Lucy yelled up the stairs but to no avail. Levy was going to do what she wanted to do.

* * *

><p>Jose Porla was strolling to his class, prepared, though not particularly enthused, to impart his knowledge to new students, eager to dive into the wonderful world of chemistry. At 45, he had already gone through half of his life. Almond skinned, wrinkled, and eyes bored, he was the literal dead-man walking. He didn't take any joy from teaching anymore, especially in this school. Some, of course, were just slack-jawed kids who were only taking his course just to fulfill their science requirements in order to get a degree. Some had no idea how difficult his course was going to be. But there will be one or two who will be perfect for what he needs, his side job.<p>

As he opened the doors to his classroom, the teacher saw that every seat was filled, twenty-one in all. His lab held many tables filled with beakers, burners, chemicals and other equipment. In the front of the room was a white board with markers. The students were looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to begin.

"Good morning class." He announced out loud. "My name is Professor Jose and this is Chemistry 126. This is an accelerated course, for those who want to quickly be eligible for the advanced chemistry courses Magnolia U. has to offer." He looked around the class and was so far unimpressed. "Now I know some of you have seen Breaking Bad and are wanting to be the next Walter White. Well, I'm going to disappoint you and say that you won't. My course will not teach you to make drugs."

Someone caught the teacher's attention. A gentleman with long jet black hair, metal studs for eyebrows, piercings on his ears and chin, this man has an interesting look about him. Porla could tell that he was a kid from the streets, who knew the way of the world. There was no idealism left in this guy, just a sickening reality that has been beaten into him after many years. He could use someone like him.

"However, I work at Jupiter Pharmaceuticals and they hire three interns from my class every semester. I am looking for the some of the best and brightest." Professor Porla locked eyes with the man with the long hair. His next words were directed exclusively at him. "I will be looking forward to your progress with great interest."

* * *

><p><strong>And that's the end of that chapter.<strong>

**It feels light but I was having problems coming up with this chapter. I don't know. It just wasn't coming together the way I wanted. Everything is basically happening in the same breath, one after another.**

**Well, love it? Hate it? Have no opinions one way or the other? Have questions? Leave me a review. I'd love to hear from you.**

**Until next time,**

**A. Angel**


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